Easter is almost here and in the vein of getting back to basics we decided to go the natural route this year and use onion skins to dye our eggs. It's surprisingly simple and a lot of fun! My three-year-old was quite thrilled with the entire experience and very pleased with the results.
So, what do you need for this activity?
Before getting started we headed outside to collect some bits of nature to use for making patterns on our eggs. My daughter loved searching for different types of leaves and flowers around the yard. We brought our finds inside, placed them onto our just washed still damp eggs and wrapped them in the nylons. Then the eggs went into the pot with the onion skins, two tablespoons of red wine vinegar and water and boiled for 20 minutes! Voila! Beautiful, naturally dyed eggs!
While the eggs were simmering in the onion skins, we got out some Easter books and snuggled up for a brief storytime that led to an impromptu egg hunt throughout the house after my daughter decided to hide some plastic eggs we had handy. It was a delightful morning of bonding and memory making!
*Note: this post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Any purchases made via the links provided go to support our literacy efforts.
In our humble opinion, no Easter basket is complete without the addition of at least one or two books and, as mentioned above, reading Easter books is a great way to pass the time while you're waiting for your eggs to be done. Below is a list of a dozen of our favorite Easter books to read aloud!
For even more egg-cellent Easter reads take a look at our previous blog Hop Into Reading This Easter! and our Holiday Books list.
Happy Easter!
-Kate @ BTBL Author
We are three generations that seek a way to get back to basics. It’s not that we eschew technology, but sometimes simpler is better, especially in raising our children. Mom was a reading teacher, Amanda is an early childhood educator and Kate a children’s literature specialist and former school librarian along with the latest editions, a daughter for Kate (now 3) and a son for Amanda (now 1.) We advocate reading aloud, the simple toys that use imagination and encourage creativity and learning in the kitchen, which can be a fun mess but also teaches life skills. Join us in raising healthy, happy, inquisitive and intelligent children.
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Books make great gifts because they have whole worlds inside of them.
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As avid bibliophiles, we will always enjoy giving the gift of reading. We love looking for a book that will bring joy or inspiration to the reader, a special bookmark to mark a pause, key chains or jewelry that announces one’s love of books or creating a gift basket of sorts by pairing books with complementary gifts. Any gift that showcases books and reading is a gift worth giving and receiving for it is a gift that will endure. So, share your passion for books with the ones you love this holiday season.
Happy holidays and reading! |
- We Don’t Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins
- School Days by B. G. Hennessy
- My New Teacher and Me by Al Yankovic
- The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt
- Choose a title from Natasha Wing for your child’s age such as...
- A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to School by Davide Cali
- This School Year Will Be The Best! by Kay Winters
- Click, Clack, Quack to School! by Doreen Cronin
- Froggy Goes to School by Jonathan London
- It’s Back to School We Go!: First Day Stories from Around the World by Ellen Jackson
- Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
- Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes
- The Pout-Pout Fish Goes to School by Deborah Diesen
- Monsters Love School by Mike Austin
- If You Take A Mouse to School by Laura Numeroff
- Little Critter: First Day of School by Mercer Mayer
- Llama Llama Misses Mama by Anna Dewdney
- How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills
- Emily's First 100 Days of School by Rosemary Wells
- Timothy Goes to School by Rosemary Wells
- How To Get Your Teacher Ready by Jean Reagan
- Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by Joseph Slate
Remember that reading aloud to your child helps:
- build background knowledge
- build vocabulary
- build concentration and focus
- build imagination
- build strong bonds
What's happening in September?
8th: Poet Jack Prelutsky’s Birthday - With his innovative word play, Prelutsky’s poems are a must read for every child. Consider Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young and The New Kid on the Block.
Author Jon Scieszka’s Birthday - Nationally recognized reading advocate and the founder of the literacy program for boys GUYS READ. Share one of his picture books with your young one or for the older set a title from his Time Warp Trio chapter book series.
International Literacy Day - Helps to raise awareness for those who cannot read or write. Help your child understand how important reading is to life by reading Oh, How I wished I Could Read! by John Gile.
11th: 9/11 Remembrance Day - Honor those who were taken from us in your own special way.
13th: Author Roald Dahl’s Birthday - Who didn’t grow up with Dahl’s classics such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or James and the Giant Peach? Share one of his many stories with your child.
16th: Author H.A. Rey’s Birthday - Rey, with wife Margret, brought the delightful exploits of a mischievous and beloved little monkey to life, Curious George. Read about their remarkable journey to escape the Nazi invasion of Paris in The Journey That Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margaret and H.A. Rey by Louise Borden.
17th: Constitution Day – A day to celebrate our Nation’s Constitution. Consider reading We the People by David Catrow.
25th: Poet Shel Silverstein’s Birthday - Silverstein has delighted children with his poems and drawings for years. Among his notable works are The Giving Tree and Where the Sidewalk Ends.
The Last Week is Banned Books Week - Celebrate the right to read by picking up your favorite book or a frequently challenged book. You can find challenged and banned book lists on the American Library Association's website.
Curiosity Day - Each year, sometime around the birthday of H.A. Rey, publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) hosts an event called Curiosity Day. This is a day set aside to celebrate the magic of learning and discovery through reading, particularly the stories of everyone’s favorite curious monkey, George. You can find more information about this day and ways to celebrate on HMH’s official Curious George web page.
Happy reading!
A poetic thank you note set against stunning photographs that capture the many beauties and wonders of our planet, this book pays homage to all that the Earth has to offer us and concludes with heartfelt words that will resonate with readers of all ages: “Thank you for beginnings, for endings, for lifetimes. Thank you for being our home.” An appendix in the back of the book offers activities and ideas for ways in which readers can show their appreciation for the Earth.
This book may not seem like an obvious pick for Earth Day, but the moving text and breathtaking illustrations show the wonders and beauty to be found all around us. It is a poetic celebration of the little things and a reminder to appreciate all the world.
While taking a walk on a drizzly day through his very gray and dreary city, Liam comes upon a tiny, struggling patch of plant life up on the old railway. He decides to tend to the little patch and become its gardener. Although Liam does not know how to be a gardener, he does his best and slowly learns all that he can about taking care of plants. Inspired by New York City’s High Line, Liam’s story shows us that anyone can be a gardener and take care of a little patch of Earth.
Have you ever wanted to start a compost pile for your garden? Have you ever wondered what can be put into a compost pile? This book is a rhyme-filled introduction to all the things that can be composted, from apple cores to zinnia heads!
Reminiscent of Dr. Seuss’s Lorax, Michael Recycle is a superhero who travels from town to town teaching the citizens how to be green and recycle. The illustrations are bright and cartoon-like and the text has a nice rhyming flow that adds to the enjoyment of reading this book aloud. At the end of the book you will find “Michael Recycle’s Go Green Tips,” which features an array of simple things you and your family can do to live a greener life.
*Extended activity: Using recyclable items and/or natural materials you collect while outside exploring, help your little one think outside of the box and make something new with the various things you have saved/found. It could be a simple piece of art or a new useful tool, the possibilities are endless!
Learning to appreciate all of the wonders of our Earth is as simple as learning the ABCs with this picture book. As readers move through the alphabet they will see animals and plants represented by each letter and gain an appreciation for our world.
Little Critter is on a mission to reduce, reuse and recycle in order to do his part to help save our Earth.
What does it mean to 'be green?' As Nancy explains, it means taking care of our planet and in this story Fancy Nancy learns the rules for being green. She also does all she can to make sure her family is living the green life. But does she take her newfound passion a bit too far...? This particular title is an I Can Read Level 1 book perfect for those just learning to read on their own.
No Earth Day book list would ever be complete without The Lorax. A timeless classic, written long before the Green Movement began, this story perfectly shows the consequences of our actions, but offers a message of hope that things can change, if we just care.
*Extended Activity: After reading the book together, snuggle up , watch the film and then make your own truffula trees likes these from Art Projects for Kids. You could even make your own truffula tree forest with these life-size ones from Mrs. Lodge’s Library!
“UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
-The Lorax-
Follow along as the rhyming text takes you through the life of a sycamore tree, from a tiny seed, to a young sapling and eventually a large tree. Also shown are all of the woodland creatures that call the tree their home, thus introducing young readers to the complex relationships that exist in nature. This is a factual story that feels more like an evocative poem with the most exceptional illustrations.
*Extended activity: Learn about the process illustrator Jennie Webber used by watching this video.
Much like It Starts With a Seed, this book is a lyrical homage to trees and all that they do for life on Earth. As the striking illustrations help the story move through the seasons, the reader sees what happens to trees at different times of the year.
Simple text takes the reader through the many connections present in a single ecosystem: “Because of an acorn, a tree. Because of a tree, a bird. Because of a bird, a seed."
Help a tree navigate its way through the seasons in this fun, interactive story! As in Herve Tullet’s Press Here, this book requires the help of the reader to make things happen. Follow the instructions to tap, pat, clap, wiggle or jiggle the book in order to see all that a tree undergoes as the seasons change.
This unique book offers a time-lapse look into the life of an oak tree and how the world changes around it over 200 years. Beginning in 1775 with a little boy planting an acorn, the text and detailed illustrations show the various ways in which life altered with the advent of new technologies and increase in population.
Katherine Olivia Sessions was the first woman to graduate from the University of California with a degree in science. Having grown up amongst the towering redwoods of northern California, she decided her new home of San Diego needed trees and so she started a movement that would transform the city from a desert town to a lush, green oasis. This picture book biography offers an inspiring story about following your dreams.
Peek through the hole in the cover of this picture book into the habitat of a tree. What types of animals call this tree home? How does the tree change as the seasons change? Bright, detailed illustrations bring this busy world to life and the rhyming text makes the book a delight to read aloud again and again.
Happy reading!
Kate @ BTBL
Author
We are three generations that seek a way to get back to basics. It’s not that we eschew technology, but sometimes simpler is better, especially in raising our children. Mom was a reading teacher, Amanda is an early childhood educator and Kate a children’s literature specialist and former school librarian along with the latest additions, a daughter (now 4) for Kate, and two sons (now 1 and a newborn) for Amanda. We advocate reading aloud, the simple toys that use imagination and encourage creativity and learning in the kitchen, which can be a fun mess but also teaches life skills. Join us in raising healthy, happy, inquisitive and intelligent children.
James’s latest holiday title is quite possibly his most humorous and fun yet! When Tiny the Elephant discovers the Easter Bunny stuck in a log he decides he must help in any way he can. The most obvious way to lend assistance? Take on the role of Easter Bunny himself, of course! You and your little bunny will be entranced by the flow of the rhyming text and whimsical illustrations as Tiny the Elephant learns that being a bunny is not so easy after all. Have even more fun with the story when you read a region specific edition for the area you live in, for example Tiny the Michigan Easter Bunny.
Following the cumulative, building structure of The House That Jack Built and using rhyming text, this title explains the religious origins of the Easter holiday in an understandable. approachable way for young listeners. The repetitive text paired with the bright, detailed illustrations will have the whole family engaged.
We picked up a copy of this book at a library used book sale over a year ago and it is still one of my little bunny’s all-time favorites, regardless of the time of year. Peter Cottontail and his staff are preparing all of the eggs, goodies and baskets for the children of Sunnyside. Lift-the-flap elements on every page keep little listeners engaged in the story as they discover opposites, shapes, numbers and hidden treats!
Is any holiday complete without reading one of Wing’s The Night Before… books? This take on a classic holiday poem features the Easter Bunny as the bringer of goodies this time around and faithfully follows the rhythm and tone of the original poem, The Night Before Christmas (A Visit from St. Nicholas) by Clement C. Moore.
Author
We are mom Sandra and daughters Amanda and Kate, all with backgrounds in literacy and education, who want to share our philosophy of taking the basics of life; books, simple toys that encourage play, imagination and creativity, and using cooking and baking to teach math and real life skills to raise happy, inquisitive children. Join us in exploring the old and the new and sifting through the myriad of research to consider what is best for our children.
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