Easter Books

I forgot to go through our books and pull out some spring themed ones a couple of weeks ago. I am super proud of myself for pulling out Easter and rabbit/bunny books tonight.  


Somewhere we have a Peter Cottontail book that I couldn't put my hands on just yet.  

Happy Easter, Maisy!  

Written and Illustrated by Lucy Cousins

I bought this on clearance a year or two ago.  

The illustrations are fun and it's one of our only books that specifically mentions Easter.

The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown  

Illustrated by Clement Hurd

Classic and touching.

I am a Bunny by Ole Risom

Illustrated by Richard Scarry

Fun vintage/retro illustrations.

The Classic Tale of The Velveteen Rabbit or How Toys Become Real 

by Margery Williams 

Illustrated by Michael Green

This is mine from when I was young.  I still remember the store where it was bought.  Love this story!

Tales of Peter Rabbit and His Friends 

Written and Illustrated by Beatrix Potter

This is also mine from when I was young.  According to an inscription in my mom's handwriting, it was bought for me in 1984.  I loved, loved, loved this book!

I wish I could wake Ziggy up right now and read these books with him.

(I am so sorry for the poor quality of these images and the fact I did not link the books to Amazon!)

Wishlist Wednesday: Oriental Trading Company

Ok, ok, BPA, lead, plastic, and Made in China aside, these are the things I would buy right now from Oriental Trading Company to foster and facilitate in-home learning.

Courtesy of OrientalTrading.com

1.  Tie-Dyed Beach Balls.  These are available in both a regular ($11.00 per dozen) and a mini size ($6.50 per dozen).  I see playing clothesline volleyball with these.  I see these in a kiddie pool, with or without water.  I think these could even work inside on a rainy day.  They are available in other designs, but I'm a sucker for tie-dye and you could use them as inspiration for some cool marbleizing art.  

Courtesy of OrientalTrading.com

2.  Alphabet Bean Bags.  The entire alphabet on bean bags in pretty colors.  So. Many. Ideas.

Courtesy of OrientalTrading.com

3.  Colorful Traffic Cones.  Foot races, bikes races, and obstacle courses!  You could practice listening skills as well ("Run to the red cone and then skip to the purple cone.")

Courtesy of OrientalTrading.com

4.  Colored Masking Tape.  Yeah, I'm not sure this is a good price for this ($25.50 for 10 rolls) and I don't know exactly what I would do with it, but I know it's cool.  Really cool.

Courtesy of OrientalTrading.com

5.  Wood Beads.  600 beads (an entire pound of beads) for $6.25, and in such lovely colors!  Sorting, tong transferring, math, stringing and lacing---the world is your bead oyster!

Courtesy of OrientalTrading.com

6.  Buttons, buttons, buttons, buttons, and buttons.  Rainbow, wooden, self-adhesive, shaped, and great big.    So many buttons!  Again, sorting, tong transferring, math, stringing, lacing, and arts and crafts.  So many options!

Courtesy of OrientalTrading.com

7.  Colored Clothespins.  50 colored clothespins for $5.25.  These would be awesome for hanging children's art work and marking progress on a chore chart or a daily schedule.  It would also be neat to use them for matching works and other materials you create.

Courtesy of OrientalTrading.com

8.  Pompoms.  These rainbow pompoms (or their solid colored cousins) could be part of a sorting, math, or art activity.  Fun!

Courtesy of OrientalTrading.com

Courtesy of OrientalTrading.com

9.  Laces and Chenille Stems.  Because you are going to need something for all this lacing and stringing I keep talking about.

Courtesy of OrientalTrading.com

10.  Watercolors.  I believe in having high quality art materials for children, but it's nice to have something more affordable on hand for experiments and the like.

Courtesy of OrientalTrading.com

11.  Letter Stampers.  Available in uppercase and lowercase letters, these stampers have knobs that I imagine would work well for little hands.  What a fun way to explore early literacy and make some unique art and gifts as well!

Courtesy of OrientalTrading.com

12.  Foam Shapes.   These are available in lots of shapes including letters, fruit shapes, geometric shapes, and even sock monkeys!  I've used these in the classroom and kids love these for sorting and math activities.  Playing around with stickers is also a fun way to strengthen fine motor skills and create art.