(This post is part of series that began with What is Waldorf: Why a Prolonged Childhood is part of the Waldorf Way; however, it can also be read as a stand-alone article.)
Photo by Deleece Cook
The age of academics in a Waldorf-style education is easy to determine as it happens to coincide with children losing baby teeth, or milk teeth as they are called in certain parts of the world.
During the same time children lose baby teeth, the brain experiences a leap in growth and development. It’s at this very time around the seventh year of life between the sixth and seventh birthdays that these brain changes make learning such things as reading, writing, and mathematics developmentally appropriate. The brain has spent the last six years making sense of the natural and physical world, emotions, gross and fine motor movements, language development, imagination, basic number sense, creativity and so much more that I’d need a book to list them out, and it now experiences a new leap, priming itself for the next phase of formal, academic learning.
When letters are finally introduced in the Waldorf first grade, they are not introduced in the rigid flash-card, worksheet-tracing way many of us unfortunately experienced as a child. Instead, the letters are each illustrated in a pictorial, imaginative way so that children begin to make connections between the letters, their sounds and a child’s surroundings in life.
The Waldorf teacher or homeschool parent will begin teaching letter recognition with a story. The letters, and their sounds, become part of the story and are illustrated in a creative, connective, pictorial fashion by both teacher and child. They are searched out in nature and objects and reinforced in more stories, movement and art. Children are eventually encouraged to make up their own letter stories and illustrations and finally, the traditional letter format begins to emerge, leading to writing.
The six and seven year old child is extremely imaginative and creative. This way of introducing letters reaches the whole child through their imagination. Through stories, poetry, movement, music, art…a child learning their letters and it includes their emotions and a creative gateway. This is an extremely engaging way to learn for children. And the addition of an emotional aspect helps embed the learning deeper into the brain's “files” to become permanent. That, combined with other methods, such as the phases of learning (phonemic awareness, patterns, syllables…), allow children to eventually form letters into words, which also then connect to reading and expanded writing. But it is this creative and emotional approach of teaching to the head and the heart and the hands, or to the whole child, that makes the difference. What may have been a forced and frustrating, non-connected event in Kindergarten has now instead become a rich event in learning during first and second grades. What a difference a year makes!
Number qualities are also introduced within stories and art beginning in grade one. Just like introducing letters, introducing number qualities (and all math really) includes the whole child approach through the head, heart and hands. Storytelling, art and life take center stage here, as well as finding images in the world to represent 1 of something, 2 of something and so on. And movement with numbers is important, including rhythm, to helping children really hang on to what they are being taught.
And it's not that you can't ever mention numbers or counting before first grade! It's that the formal instruction waits until brain development allows the child to actually understand and process the information beyond rote memorization, copy behavior or basic number sense. In fact, number sense itself has already begun in early childhood whether you want that or not!
Preschoolers who group all the large, medium and small felt balls into their own bowls are using a really basic type of number sense. Children who are learning finger weaving at age five and can count four stitches are using a basic number sense. Rhythm and “keeping time” with a song or saying is a basic type of number sense, too and can help tremendously later on with such things as skip counting and multiplication facts. But there is no sit down, pencil-paper formal instruction until grade one because again, the brain development isn't in place yet for formal instruction.
Once there, however, number qualities are within the first one or two math blocks, often following or joining in with Roman Numerals. One is the sun. One is me. One day. One Night. Four seasons. Four wings. Four Limbs. Two legs. Two arms. Two eyes. Two ears. Five points on a star. Eight legs on a spider. In other words, reinforcing or teaching that numbers represent real amounts will be taught in first grade through art, stories, songs, poems, games and movement. Not only is it a fun transition into school life, number qualities have already been building with language development, and so move along at a nice, natural pace with children enjoying the process.
Other areas children experience in a Waldorf or Waldorf inspired home or education need their own article (or articles) really as there is so much color and texture to each topic. These can include art, crafts, singing, musical instruments, storytelling, community, festivals, homelife, baking, gardening, and textiles, to name a few. And storytelling and story reading are treated as two different actions. The important thing here is age appropriateness, building upon each other, and using these 'softer' areas to enhance the formal 'harder' areas, or academics of reading, writing, math and eventually other academic subjects. And again, educating the whole child with activities and lessons which inspire the head, heart and hands.
Being raised in the traditional education system may cause you to wonder, does this delay in introducing letters, numbers, writing, reading and math cause children to lag behind their peers? While initially in first and second grades, Waldorf children have not had the practice their public school peers began in Kindergarten. The amount of learning and understanding that takes place now that a child’s brain is actually ready results in most children not only catching up, but even, in many cases, surpassing their public school peers(1) (and often with much less frustration). This same US study found this occurred within elementary school for most kids but by no later than 8th grade for late bloomers. While a New Zealand study found this catch up occurred for most children by the 3rd to 4th grade range, or age 9.(2) It’s amazing what can happen when you let the brain do what it’s meant to do WHEN it’s meant to do it.
This is by far a general grazing of what is such a broad topic. Every family is different. Every child is different. Every school is different. Every teacher is different. There are ineffective teachers and exceptional teachers. There are teachers with a stronger background in one subject versus another. There are many variables in both Waldorf and public schools. Overall, however, Waldorf is has some creative methods for reaching children on many levels, including emotional connections.
There is so much more to a Waldorf Inspired life of parenting, home environment, childhood and education than this touches on. Child development on its own is a fascinating topic. Parenting is something we’ll always strive to be better at. And educational methods are nowhere near linear and fixed into one best model! But a Waldorf-inspired home, childhood and early education is definitely worth exploring as it’s full of so many positive outcomes for both children and family as a whole in many non-academic and academic parts of life. One more thing, childhood is fleeting, priceless and precious. Let it last. Think about not forcing academics before the brain development is there. And rememeber to be present and enjoy.
Alphabet
Handwriting
Storytelling
For Parents
Lesson Books
Alphabet and Numbers Puzzle Pairs - Letter and Number Recognition
*Note: While many links on this page will keep you on our website some will take you to other websites:
We are not responsible for the content on these websites. We earn a small affiliate fee to help keep our blog going for our work with Renewal of Literacy if you purchase an e-course.
Written by Laura Lowe
Laura is a professional educator with an Environmental Science degree, as well as a Master’s degree in early childhood through adolescent education with decades of experience working with children and the environment.
More about Laura and Alder and Alouette, here.
]]>As a family raising young children, and especially if you’re homeschooling, you’ve probably come across several resources, such as a Waldorf Inspired home, Waldorf Education, Montessori Toys and Methods, Reggio Emilio Philosophy, Charlotte Mason Homeschool, Forest School, Unschooling, Wild Schooling and so on.
Though I do find pieces in many of these that I like for both home and homeschool, and you could say our family style and homeschool style is really an eclectic mix, we, as a family, tend to gravitate towards Waldorf-inspired early childhood, parenting and educational ideas the most.
The first Waldorf school began in 1919 as a result of Rudolf Steiner’s social reform ideas following WWI. Steiner was, what many might consider, a colorful figure. Well educated in a wide berth of academic subjects, his complex beliefs and ideas in combining the sciences and the pseudosciences, including spirituality, may seem perplexing today, but not so much during that time period of his life, i.e. Thomas Edison, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Mary Todd Lincoln and Queen Victoria also subscribed to similar ideas during Steiner's era. But it was his ideas and observations about child development and how children learn that first caught my attention years ago.
Steiner’s social reform lectures included his social threefolding philosophy about the separation of the cultural, economic and political spheres. To Steiner, one aspect of separating the cultural sphere from the economic and political meant that education should be made available to all children for all grades regardless of a family’s ability to pay.
The educational aspect of Steiner’s ideas are multi-faceted and based upon what he called the threefold nature of a human’s spirit, soul and body throughout the main developmental stages of early childhood, middle childhood and adolescence — each main stage of childhood lasting about seven years. Though some of Steiner’s ideas raise an eyebrow or two, many of his child development ideas were ahead of his time and would end up largely matching, decades later, those of Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget, of whom was still a baby during Steiner’s time.
Steiner's ideas were first used in 1919 as part of an educational method to teach the Waldorf-Astoria factory’s children in Stuttgart, Germany, hence the crossover terminology of “Steiner Education” with “Waldorf Education” and “Waldorf-Steiner” or “Steiner-Waldorf” that you may see or hear. But it was his ideas about children before starting school — those from birth to age three and then age three to age six—that spoke to me first.
To me, the Waldorf philosophy is what I call a holistic method of developmentally appropriate child rearing and education. Starting with the educational academic method, it ranges from first grade and beyond. But there is an initial early childhood philosophy from birth to age six that has nothing to do with what we think of as academics. Instead, the emphasis is on environment, experiences, nurturing, family life and opportunities for babies and children. And for me, it was a way to remember to slow down and be present. Enjoy what you have with your little ones because it moves quickly.
The time period from birth through the end of age six in Waldorf philosophy is a period of what I call 'complete childhood.’ It’s a non-academic time of nourishing the child’s growth and development including emotions and senses, through an intentional environment. As your baby grows from newborn to infant, this environment includes a warm and nurturing home with consideration of how such things as color, sound, warmth and texture affect your little one and includes advice and ideas based on observations about how to be a responsive, nurturing and positive parent. As your infant grows into a toddler and preschooler, this environment includes daily opportunities for the growing child in developmentally appropriate art, crafts, nature, music, home life, family, traditions, seasonal cycles, festivals, storytelling, rich language, sensory development and play. Lots and lots of play—especially open-ended play—to encourage creativity and imagination. This time period is also a time to expose children to particular books and stories, as well, especially magical nature stories for the three to six-year-old, to help foster imagination, a love of nature and impress upon our responsibility to it, as well as introducing good old life lesson examples.
This time period of allowing the child to develop a solid sense of self and grounding, a solid period of gross and fine motor development, a strong attachment to and preliminary understandings of nature, a solid ability in imaginative creativity, a solid sense of family and traditions, a period of rich language development and extensive vocabulary with understanding and context…before beginning any academics — is what early childhood is about in the Steiner-Waldorf tradition. And then look at what has already been put into place before ever beginning formal school: an amazing foundation to build future academics upon.
From an educational viewpoint, Waldorf educators typically delay (when compared to current public educational standards) any approach to reading and writing or mathematics until a child is in their seventh year. Instead, children between the periods of birth to age 6 focus on their language development and number sense through the spoken word and interactions with parents, family members, friends, the environment and, if in a preschool or kindergarten, from educators in a non-academic format. They develop their rich language abilities as they grow through poetry, nursery rhymes, finger plays, puppet shows, songs, verses and high-quality storytelling with an introduction to age appropriate magical stories and fairy tales. They develop their number sense through play, as well as through every-day activities, like baking, gardening, imitation, play and crafts. This is an intentional way of living with our young children for the first six years.
Children in a Waldorf education are not drilled on their ABCs or 123s from toddlerhood and beyond and are not pushed into memorizing sight words as out of context lists in Kindergarten to get a head start. Nor are they pushed into sounding out words, tracing letters over and over or attempting to read, write, add or subtract in preschool or kindergarten.
Instead, they are allowed to completely and fully develop a sense of imagination through their childhood experiences. Academics wait until the seventh year of life, which in a true Waldorf-type education is the year typically called class one, or first grade.
This style of non-academic learning, or learning through daily life, was originally based upon Steiner’s observations and insights into the best methods and developmental time frames for children to begin formal learning. In developing his ideas that formal learning should wait until a child's seventh year, an entire new set of observations and how to nurture children between birth to age six began to emerge.
Today, science has caught up with Steiner and we know that brain development in children agree with and back up many of Steiner’s original views. Conventional education has pushed academics onto children earlier and earlier in an attempt to give children an edge or to appease parents wanting their children to have a head start. But it just doesn’t work this way for a child’s developing brain.
It’s not to say that preschool or Kindergarten are wrong. Preschool is great for giving children another opportunity to play, work on language development through social interactions, work on number sense through daily life activities, be creative, and work on motor, as well as social skills! I love preschool! But it’s not the time to begin learning to write, read, add or subtract.
What good is it to force a child who can only suckle to eat from a spoon or to force a child just learning to crawl to walk instead? What good is it to force a child just learning to say his or her first words to speak a full sentence or write their name? So why do we force children in preschool and kindergarten to do things their brains are not completely ready for, foregoing the very things their growth and developmental timetable need instead, such as gross and fine motor movement and different types of play, social skills, creativity and language development.
This age of academics in a Waldorf-style education is easy to determine, as it happens to coincide with the time a child begins losing baby teeth, or milk teeth, as they can also be called in certain parts of the world, and were during Steiner’s time.
During the same time frame children are losing baby teeth, the brain is experiencing a leap in growth and development of its own, and it’s at this very time around the seventh year of life between the sixth and seventh birthdays, that these brain changes make learning such things as reading, writing, and math developmentally appropriate. The brain has spent the last six years making sense of the natural and physical world, emotions, gross and fine motor movements, language development, imagination, basic number sense, creativity and so much more that I’d need a book to list them out, and it now experiences a new leap to prime itself for the next phase of formal, academic learning.
Interested in reading more about Waldorf Literacy and Number sense in grade one? Find that here in What is Waldorf: When and How do Academics Begin in the Waldorf Way
Parenting and Family
Crafts to Make for Young Children
Games and Activities for Young Children
Cooking with Young Kids
Stories for Young Kids
*Note: While many links on this page will keep you on our website, Alder & Alouette, some will take you to other websites:
We are not responsible for the content on these websites. We earn a small affiliate fee to help keep our blog going for our work with Renewal of Literacy if you purchase an e-course.
Written by Laura Lowe
Laura is a professional educator with degrees in the Environmental Science realm, as well as early childhood through adolescent education, with decades of experience teaching children.
More about Laura and Alder and Alouette, here.
]]>After decades working with children, we’ve accumulated a wealth of verses, games, songs and seasonal crafts and recipes. Here are a few that are nice during springtime.
]]>After decades working with children, we’ve accumulated a wealth of verses, games, songs and seasonal crafts and recipes. Here are a few that are nice during springtime.
How many different textures can you find in nature?
In the heart of a seed,
Buried deep, so deep,
A dear little plant
Lay fast asleep.
“Wake!” said the sunshine,
“And creep to the light.”
“Wake!” said the voice
Of the raindrops bright.
The little plant heard;
And it rose to see
What the wonderful
Outside world might be.
YOU JUST MADE A BOTANICAL INK!
Photo Credit Kelly Sikkema
What about that dip pen? Whittle the tip of any stick that will hold up to writing pressure or how about an actual large feather with thick quill? What else can you find in nature that you could use as a dip pen? Add some texture from flowers, trees, shrubs or grasses to the end for a nature inspired paint brush.
Lovely website that offers many fun family activities with sticks. Yes sticks! Build a woodland Den, Take in the Bird Nest Challenge, Find and personalize a Journey Stick, Make a Wind Chime, Build and use your own loom, Try the Twig Tower or learn to whittle. You can even make a bug hotel,
These are just a few of the activities you can do outside with your children.
A STORY BY ANANDA ELUF • BRAZIL
THERE WAS ONCE A LITTLE SEED that fell from a boy’s hand. The little seed looked upon the earth and saw so many beautiful things that she began to feel sad that she was only a very little seed. She longed to be like the cherries hanging above her or a sweet and juicy orange and not just a little seed.
She looked up at the sky and saw a flock of birds flying and playing in the sky, turning somersaults in the air, and she imagined how good it would be to be a bird, to have wings, to FLY! But she was only a very small seed.
She looked to one side and saw a lovely rose.“How full of life it is! I would like to be like that—so bright!” But she was just a very small seed. She was tired of being such a small seed, so small that no one even saw her.
She looked to the other side and saw a blue butterfly. It had such light, airy wings with such beautiful designs, and she thought, “I would also like to be a butterfly, or at least to have such special wings. . . then everyone would see me!” But it would be strange for a little seed to have wings. . .
And she became sad, and sadder and sadder—so sad that she began to sink down and down. And she sank into the earth. She felt good down in the warm earth. It rained. And it was sunny.
And suddenly a little green shoot came up out of the earth.
More rain. And more sun.
And the shoot began to grow! She felt very happy to know that a little seed could change into a lovely little plant!
More rain. And more sun.
She continued to grow and to grow, until one day she looked at herself and saw that she was now a beautiful tree covered with delicious cherries.
All the birds flew to her and settled in her branches to sing and to make their nests. The most beautiful butterflies came and danced around her leaves.
The animals of the fields and woods came to sleep in her cool shade, but she was happiest when the boys and girls climbed her branches to gather cherries and took them home to eat.
A little boy climbed the tree. He picked a cherry and he ate it. And a little seed fell from his hand. ..
—by Mabel Watts
A little seed for me to sow.
(Pretend to hold a tiny seed in your hands.)
A little earth to make it grow.
(Bend over and touch the ground.)
A little hole, A little pat.
(Pretend to dig a hole in your palm or the air; pretend to plant the seed; pat earth over seed.)
A little wish, And that is that.
(Close eyes and touch head; open eyes and bring arms in front of chest, criss cross)
A little sun, A little shower.
(Raise sun with hands opening; use fingers to create rain.)
A little while, And then --- a flower!
(Pretend to sleep; grow a flower with hands)
Need a little real world science in your life for you and your children?
Louis' Farm is a nature inspired magazine for children 3 to 11 from France (English version available in our shop for a special price of $12.50.
Louis' Farm Front Cover, Spring 2023 Issue by Matthew Thurber and Elodie Rabilloud
Waldorf Handwork website: Find online courses teaching different Waldorf Handwork projects for different ages
Waldorf Teacher Resources: While created for Waldorf teachers, this 501c non-profit website has a plethora of free information too for anyone with children between 1st and 8th grades. Find resources for form drawing, circle time, music, movement, language, black board drawings, play, painting and stories, as well as resources for academic subjects and professional and blog articles about learning and child development. If you are a classroom teacher, register for even more resources.
Photo from Waldorf Teacher Resources, Creative Commons by sa-nc License
Collected by Laura Lowe
Laura is a professional educator with degrees in Environmental Science, as well as Education, with decades of experience working with children and the environment. She’s also a mom to three daughters and six grandchildren under the age of seven. She enjoys every second she can spending time with her husband, children and grandchildren.
More about Laura and Alder and Alouette, here.
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If you read my “September Fun Family Traditions” post, you know how much I enjoy the autumn months. I’ve spent 33 years as a mother, 35 years as a wife, and 6 1/2 years as a grandmother (not to mention well over half a century with extended family) enjoying these months the most—the traditions we hold dear and the warm pace of crafts, cooking, snuggles, day trips, scenery and celebrations. I treasure them.
OCTOBER
Marjan van Zeyl, Building A Fort
October is the time of year for me when nature really begins her exhale and gives us an autumn gift.
Someone asked me once why I loved October so much. I didn’t have to think too hard about that. Here’s what spilled out of my mouth.
October--To me, you are birthdays, pumpkin breads and steaming chai tea. You are Burgundy stews, squash soups and apple pies that I can’t resist. You are turn-on-the-heater for the first time this year, reading mysterious books, listening to crackling fireplaces and wrapping up in cozy blankets. You are crisp autumn air with the scent of leaf piles teasing us with anticipation of what’s to come. You are Canadian geese conversing through the skies and gray clouds filled with diffused sunlight peeking through. You are costumes and decorations, cider and bonfires too. With last minute forts in the woods and raindrops anew. And as you fall asleep for the season, you show me your foxes, rabbits and owls up close. Your squirrels stay tucked in later each day and the black bears begin to swim away. And long, warm hugs and love of family are near. October, you are the best month for me; this is clear.
(*Our black bears swim to a nearby island to hibernate.)
A SLOWER, BATTY, SQUIRRELY, FIRE CRAZY MONTH
October is a slower month for our family than September. Besides Halloween, some seasonal recipes and a few scary or mystery books, we like to get a little batty, squirrel around some and go a little fire crazy. First, the easy ones. October is “Bat Appreciation Month” with many online and in person batty events during Bat Appreciation Week, which is October 24 - 31 every year. Find out Bat Basics and History here, and find many Batty resources for children and homeschool here.
October is also Squirrel Awareness Month (even though Squirrel Appreciation Day is in January—so squirrely!). And to me, this also means a perfect time to weave in holistic home school units and outdoor time with my family about squirrels, nature, autumn, foraging, foods, animal adaptations…well, you get it.
As a biologist, I have always appreciated the role bats play in our world, so I taught this appreciation and understanding to my children, as well as my grandchildren, which is so fun. Here's a link to my post about bats and using them to engage children in holistic learning.
SQUIRRELING AROUND
Marjan van Zeyl, Squirrel
As for squirrels…they just make my family and me laugh. Even though they get into the bird feeder, they put on quite the little clown show to do so, and we just love them. But you’ll be surprised at the diversity of squirrels in our world. Read our posts here to learn more about squirrels or how to use them as a learning unit.
A Little Acrobat in Action
FIRE CRAZY
As for getting a little fire crazy, there’s a reason. Growing up in Texas, we always had fire department field trips at school in October. At home, my dad, also a full-time firefighter and paramedic, cleaned the chimney and lit the living room fire for the first time each year towards the end of October. We'd roast peanuts over the fire or mom would fix hot cocoa to drink while sitting in front of the fireplace. I can still hear the crackling fire, smell the dry wood burning and the wafting, steamy cocoa, envision my dad in his flannel jacket shaking the peanuts in a mesh roaster basket—those are some great childhood memories that have stuck with me always. And all because of…October.
The fire trucks would also drive through the neighborhoods in October and give all of us kids a ride on the truck while they checked the fire hydrants. Now I know why. We weren’t just some fire department obsessed little town whose fire fighters loved kids as much as we loved them! October is actually “National Fire Safety Month” and has an entire week devoted to Fire Prevention. I was in my mid-thirties before I discovered this, and it’s been around in some form every October since 1912! Sometimes, I just have to shake my head at my own obliviousness.
Fire Safety Month is a great time to create a community helper unit for younger children or a unit over the elements of fire and how heat is transferred for older children, while encouraging them to help with gratitude and acts of kindness. Call your local fire department and ask if they offer tours to children. Many of them do! Maybe we are still a little fire safety month enthusiastic around here, but it does end up being quite fun.
ALL HALLOW’S EVE
The best part of October for me, of course, is putting out the Halloween decorations and planning our costumes. I try to make a new Halloween craft (or two or ten) every year, and this year is no exception. This year we‘re making the most adorable ghost garland, and I thought I’d share it with you. After the ghost garland, I've also listed some Halloween crafts, books and traditional Halloween recipes! Enjoy and Happy Halloween!
MATERIALS
Materials for Ghost Garland
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Cut a length of macrame cord or yarn the length you want your garland to be plus about 12" extra so you can tie it across a wall or mantle or similar. Set that aside.
2. Start winding your macrame cord around your cardboard piece. If you use the long sides, you will get shorter ghosts and if you use the short sides, you will get longer ghosts. I wrapped mine about 20 times around the short sides.
3. Carefully slip your loops off the cardboard and tie a 6 inch long piece of cotton string through and onto one end of the loops to hold all the loops together. This end will eventually be the head, too. DON’T TRIM THE LOOSE ENDS OF THE STRING. This will be how we tie the ghost to the garland.
4. Tie another 6” piece of string horizontally around the loops to form a 'neck' on the same end as the first string you tied, but about 1/4 of the way down. You are separating the head from the bottom with this string. (See photo above).
5.Take your scissors and cut through the BOTTOM loops so the strings are all hanging freely. Trim ends if needed to make them all the same length (or not the same length, if that’s your preference).
6. Optional: Carefully unravel the strings at the bottom of your macrame cord to give your ghost a fuller, fringe look.
6. Fluff your ghost then tie to the garland.
7. Repeat.
8. Spread your ghost out so there is some space in between. How far apart you tie them is up to you.
9. Hang your ghost garland and say “wwhhaaooo” in a scary voice and enjoy.
Halloween Food
Some of Our Favorite Halloween Books
Gilbert the Ghost by Guido Van Genechten, Clavis Publishing, Ages 4-7 yrs.
Ghosts in the House by Kazuhiro Kohara, Square Fish, Ages 3-6 yrs.
The Ghosts Go Marching by Maria Modugno, Random House Books for Young Readers, Ages 2-4 yrs.
The Little Ghost Who Lost Her Boo by Elaine Bickell, Flamingo Books, Ages 4-8 yrs.
A Wee Boo by Jessica Boyd, Orca Book Publishers, Ages 3-5 yrs.
The Graveyard Book, Award Winning, by Neil Gaiman, Harper Collins, Ages 10+ yrs, Middle Grade Fiction
The Boy, The Wolf and The Stars, by Shivaun Plozza, Clarion Books, Ages 9 - 12 yrs., Middle Grade Fiction
November gets a bit busier than October.
We’ll try to be back soon for November (if we aren’t too busy baking and eating yummy autumn pies)!
I love September. I love October and November too. I think autumn is probably my favorite time of the year and one of my favorite times for fun, memorable family traditions.
SEPTEMBER
First, there is scrambling for the last blackberries and huckleberries, and where we live, that also means my grandkids investigating the black bear scat that is left each night while we sleep as the black bears also scramble for the last berries. Kids and scat. They are always enthralled!
And then there is picking the lusciously ripe apples that I just want to eat right off the tree. Of course, comes the berry jellies and jams, the berry cobblers and apple crumbles and pies, apple sauce, apple cider, apple butter, apple cake…So much yummyness from nature. I just love that. Even more fun is making most of these yummy foods with the little ones after foraging them straight from nature.
Oh...and the fun harvest crafts. So Autumn. Held onto by us non-farming folk to maintain that link to the land we've lost over generations and generations, harvest crafts are part of many of my fond childhood memories. Corn dollies are one of my favorites (which have nothing to do with American corn called maize and everything to do with cereal grains, like wheat, rye, and barley grains). It’s such an old craft spanning back to the earliest civilizations, which I love, with lots and lots of culturally significant history attached.
Corn Dolly fun can then segway into other tales depending upon the age of your children: British folklore of the corn spirit, harvest festivals, the Greek Demeter and Persephone, the Roman Ceres, even historical hiring practices and celebrations around the celebration of autumn’s Michaelmas and old courting traditions in farming communities. There was even a painted corn dolly-like figure dating back to ancient Egypt with their goddess, Isis, Egypt being a huge agricultureal force in the height of their ancient civilization.
Barley is one of the cereal grains often used to make old fashioned corn dollies.
Regardless of if you want to leave it simple to inspire a child’s imagination or tie it into teaching your children about ancient cultures up to the modern day folk craft revival, corn dollies are such a fun craft to do with small children. They can still see their imaginary world and love creating and hanging up a corn dolly as much as they love the idea of Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. You see, a corn dolly is made from some of the last grain stalks of the season and tied with pretty ribbon, usually red, to overwinter inside the house near the hearth or entryway. The corn dollie’s are then the first to be planted in the spring along with any other food and grain crops. The old superstition goes that the grain or crop spirit will be in those last pieces woven into a dolly and then when you plant them in the spring again, the spirit is released back into your field or garden to help your new crops flourish. Keeping the dolly inside during winter can also help keep away any bad spirits the dark days bring. The kids get so excited to finish their dolly and hang it nearby and they are the first to remember to plant those dollies when spring arrives!
Alternatively, use grasses with seed heads similar to grains for corn dollies if you don’t live near cereal grain fields.
I love teaching my children and grandchildren the history and folk lore behind it all and how we still see remnants of this in harvest festivals and Thanksgiving celebrations. It's so much fun. Go here to see The Guild of Strawcraftsmen’s links to other guilds and artists keeping this craft alive all over the world, including other related and non-related “corn” weaving crafts, such as weaving a traditional bee skep.
The first small rain and wind of the season and the first slight nip in the air traditionally happens where we live in late September and is a great time to introduce or reintroduce weather for all ages. Weather can be as simple or as complex as you need. The wind link above is actually appropriate for middle schoolers.
I love that first rain. That first chilly wind that comes with it. The leaves beginning to twirl to the ground from the tree tops. The pitter patter of that rain on the roof as it waxes and wanes. The squeaky creak of the trees around us complaining to the wind. The squirrels chattering and running all over trying to get the last vestiges of food squirreled away. This time of year can encourage some nice writing prompts too for teachers and homeschool parents.
I used to tell my children and now tell my grandchildren, “Catch a falling leaf on the first day of autumn for good luck!” I never knew this was an old wives tale or superstition until years later. I just associated it with my grandmother and it had happy memories. But these silly superstitions are fun for kids (and grandparents with visiting grandchildren!)
Then there is a bit of science, which I can’t resist, teaching. The autumnal equinox this year will be/was on September 22, which is often taught in sixth grade. The interesting names behind the full moons is fun folklore for 4th graders (the Harvest moon and the Hunter's moon ). Add to those all the moon lore that goes along with full moons, as well as moon stories and recipes for the autumn Moon Festival and sweet or savory moon cakes. The Moon Festival (or Mid-Autumn Festival), occurs on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month each year. Because we use a solar calendar rather than a lunar calendar, the Moon Festival dates change every year. In 2022, it ran from September 10-12. In 2023, it will run September 29-October 1. Calendars (lunar verses Solar) are also something you could add on to a unit.
And of course, there is the fun tale of St. George and the Dragon and his deeds of bravery and perserverance, who also had a little help from the angel Michael, depending upon which story you read. This fun tale leads us into using natural plant dyes to dye golden capes, pulling out the felt swords and shields, picking vases full of Michaelmas daisies and baking dragon bread on September 29 for Michaelmas each year. There is much more to do with that, such as plays or pageants, for several age ranges from preschool up to eighth grade.
Children have so much fun on Michaelmas and are encouraged with some great values, and we have such little time to encourage this wonderful imagination they have. Take advantage of it every second you can!
And then the leaves! The beginning of the beautiful, changing leaves. Of course, the leaves lead into some pretty kid-friendly crafts, fun nature play and a bit more science for my children and grandchildren. I love the chlorophyll experiment and kids are always amazed. Can you tell Autumn is my jam. Just mix together fun, food, foraging, family, traditions, a bit of science, a bit of history and a sprinkle of folk lore, and it just seems like every day is a good day.
If you'd like to find out a little more about each of our traditions above, along with crafts, recipes and oother, just click on the links below for each and enjoy and then come back for more ideas for family fun in October.
See you in a October for more Autumn Fun.
Written by Laura Lowe
Laura is a professional educator with degrees in Environmental Science, as well as Education, with decades of experience working with children and the environment. She’s also an avid crafter, novice hobby farmer, mom to three daughters and six grandchildren under the age of seven. She enjoys every second she can spending time with her husband, children and grandchildren.
More about Laura and Alder and Alouette, here.
Needle felting. What is it? What supplies do you need? And what's with all the different types of sheep's wool and needles?
Needle Felting DIY Mice Kit Felt
When I was still teaching, our grade-level team celebrated birthdays. For my birthday, I received the most adorable gift from a colleague. It was a needle felted wool painting, and it was the first time I'd ever seen or heard of this amazingly simple, yet pretty craft. I was fascinated and learned everything I could about wool and felting and after many, many years, I'm still fascinated. I'm hooked on this craft and probably will be forever.
Needle Felting Wool Painting "Otters"
About Wool
Like our hair, sheep's wool isn't smooth. It has barbed scales. It's made from a keratin-like protein and has amazing properties, which as a science geek, I immediately found out all about! But these barbed scales are key in how felted wool is such a durable fiber. These barbs are what tangles the wool together into its shape or form. How? Thanks to friction and water in wet techniques or the additional barbs on needles that catch the wool and draw it all together in dry techniques.
Merino Wool Fiber under Electron Microscope; Science Image CSIRO Australia
There are several types of needles to use in felting. We offer unpainted and painted felting needles. The difference is that it's easier to keep up with different needles when they are painted. However, the paint can sometimes keep them from fitting into a needle holder tool, which is a completely optional tool that some people prefer and some do not. Needle holders can feel more comfortable in your hand and save you time when felting something large. However, they also give you less control so are not as good for detail work as holding the needle itself.
If you prefer the needle holder tool, our painted needles have fit them fine. So feel free to choose between our painted and unpainted needles if purchasing one of our holders, too. Just be aware that depending upon where your holder tool comes from can affect whether painted needles fit or not.
You can go to our felting needle page to read about the pros and cons of each type of felting needle (triangles, stars and twisted).
Breaking felting needles is common. Why is that? The needles we use in dry needle felting were invented for machine manufacturing. In a machine, they go straight up and straight down. We, on the other hand, tend to change our angles as we felt. It's a natural thing to do, but needle felting at an angle can cause your needle to break-- just as it would in a machine. Therefore any needle felter will always recommend having back-up needles!
Fine & Rough Unpainted Felting Needles (Rough for the beginning and big areas of felting; Fine for the details)
When starting out, you may poke yourself. Goodness! Even experienced felters still poke themselves. It's easy to do. One solution to this is wearing a finger guard. Finger guards come in a variety of materials and lengths. We prefer the longer suede leather finger guards or the shorter, thicker hide leather. They are durable, but if they do ever need replacing, they are biodegradable in a compost bin.
The shorter guard is a multi-tasker, working as a finger guard and a thimble as it's much thicker. The longer ones have to be thinner and more flexible so you can bend and use those fine muscle movements of your fingers. The longer guards cover more of your finger, but being thinner, you have to still watch out a bit. They both work. It's really personal preference. Just ask yourself: where do you usually poke yourself? Finger tips or just, all over the place.
It probably doesn't need saying, but needles are sharp. And felting needles have additional barbs on them that are also sharp! As you poke your needle into your felt, you need something for the needle to hit that can't be damaged and won't dull the tip of your needle. Enter, the needle felting mat.
We have three basic types of mats for needle felting: Foam, Wool and Burlap.
Foam needle felting mats are the least costly up front and work well for sculpting and flat 'painting' with wool, but wear out easy, need to be replaced often and are not eco-friendly in the least.
Foam is produced by using a foaming agent to make air bubbles in plastic, such as polyurethane. These do not biodegrade and in fact, will never disappear in any of our lifetimes or our children's, grandchildren's, great grandchildren's and beyond lifetimes. They're here forever. (Hence, once we run out of our current stock of foam mats, we will no longer carry them.)
Wool that has been felted into a dense mat is extremely eco-friendly, long lasting, works well for sculpting and flat 'painting' and is biodegradable once it wears out (if it does!). The downside is that it's often the most costly up front.
The wool mats we sell are made from natural wool that has been washed and carded and then felted into a mat, but because it's natural and comes from different sheep with white and cream wool (or even a few dark wool strands), you may see different colors of white and cream in your mat or find occasional dark spots of plant matter as it's minimally processed.
For me, I think this adds character to the product. It reminds me of the naturalness of the materials and the felting process that took place by hand, and I love that. I also love that because they are only washed for dirt and not lanolin removal, you can still feel the moisturizing effect of the lanolin a bit.
We sell three sizes of wool mats: Large Needle Felting Mats, Mini Needle Felting Mats and Micro Needle Felting Mats. Large is good for anything. Mini is better for sculpting smaller pieces, and Micro is good for slipping into a pocket or sleeve you want to add a felted design onto.
Large and Mini Wool Felting Mats
Burlap Needle Felting Mats are another extremely eco-friendly, long lasting needle felting mat that is also 100% biodegradable. Burlap is middle of the road in up front cost and durability. Burlap lasts longer than foam, but not as long as wool.
The downside with a burlap mat is that it is NOT a good option for flat felting (painting with wool). So no wool pictures. No wool birthday crowns.
The burlap felting mat lacks the firmness that foam and wool mats have as you fill your burlap mat with your choice of filler, such as rice or flax seed. If sculpting a 3-D item is your goal, burlap is great. If painting with wool is your goal, choose a foam or wool felting mat.
Wool....there is so much to discuss! Of course, there are many, many sheep breeds, as well as goats, alpacas, rabbits, camels... and each breed has different wool (or hair) types. Sheep's wool is the most common for needle felting in the U.S.
For our purposes, we just need to stick to core wool, wool roving and wool batting, also called wool batts or fleece from sheep. (Felting fibers can also come from plants and other animals, but these animals I just listed are the ones we gravitate towards the most.)
Sheep's Wool is the Most Common Wool Used in the U.S.
Alpaca Fleece is becoming more popular in the U.S.
An Angora Goat's Fleece is used as Mohair Wool, often as doll's hair (Other goats have hair and fleece---two layers!)
Some rabbit's have very fine hair that is usually mixed with other fibers for felting
And let's not forget the fine hair of the camel, which is often mixed into other fibers for texture, color or to make them last longer. But camel hair is just fine by itself, too. The upside is camel hair is quite lovely. The down side is it takes many camels to create just one garment.
Core wool is what it sounds like: the center, or core, of wool sculptures. Basically, core wool is a less expensive, typically undyed (though not always), fluffy wool used as a filler to avoid using the more expensive rovings and batts for parts that no one will see to help form the 'forms' of a sculpture. It condenses and felts quickly and easily. It's then covered with wool roving or batt wool to give the sculpture details, textures and colors.
Core wool works great as a natural stuffing for soft toys and pillows, for wet felting, especially for dryer balls, and of course, dry needle felting as the core of sculptures.
It can be wet felted into sheets, as well, if you prefer to make your own felted sheets rather than buy them. You could, essentially, buy enough core wool to even make your own wool felting mat, though that is a lot of work and wool as you need the wool mat to be pretty firm.
Core Wool Used for Dry Needle Felting Called Sculpting, Natural Stuffing & Dryer Balls
Wool roving is a soft, fine wool that has been prepared for, but not spun into yarn yet. It is sometimes referred to as wool tops or tops, but die-hard fiber artists separate true tops from roving as true tops are roving that does not have the slight twist to them that typical roving has.
The processing of roving aligns the long fibers in the same direction and removes any vegetation or short fibers. It's then kept in long ropelike strands that are slightly twisted ready for spinners or felters to use. Some wool roving is treated so that it does not felt. You may see this as washable wool. If your goal is wet felting, make sure you do not get roving treated to not felt!
Excellent types of wool for roving include Merino and Corriedale Wool, but pretty much any wool can be made into roving if processed correctly. Roving is great for wrapping around wires, forming into shapes and flowing pieces like hair, tails, beards and manes. It's also great for dry needle felting, especially landscape paintings with wool or making beautiful birthday crowns with landscape scenes.
Felter's Flowing Wool - Wool Roving
Wool Batting, or batts, is also called fleece. It's a fluffy, rectangle sheet of wool that has been carded to somewhat align the fibers. It can be layered with other rectangles of wool to form thicker, fluffy 'batts' of wool where the fibers in the next layer are not aligned with the fibers in the previous layer. This makes wool batts felt quickly. They can be all one type of fiber from one type of sheep or a mix of fibers from many types of sheep (or less commonly, from goats or even alpacas or rabbits or camels!).
Wool Batting is excellent for wet and dry felting. In dry felting, it helps form the shape and color of objects (often over the top of less expensive core wool) such as the shape and color of a gnome's coat, whereas the wool roving might be used for the gnome's beard and hair.
Wool Batting - Batts - Fleece
Locks or curls can come from any long fiber animal, such as sheep, goats, or alpaca. They have been washed, but left uncarded, uncombed and basically left in their 'raw' state. They are usually kept like this to create curly texture for such things as hair and are often found as loose corkscrews or soft zig zags of long wool fibers. Locks and curls are gorgeous, in my opinion, and we usually can't keep them in stock in our shop once they arrive and so rarely go up online. When we are lucky enough to get them at a good price, they usually come from our local alpaca, goat and sheep farms in Washington and Oregon.
Locks and Curls are Raw Wool
This is Excellent Wool for Locks Once Sheared
The types of felting you will want to become familiar with are wet felting, needle felting and nuno felting. Needle felting can also involve either 3-dimensional sculpture or 2-dimensional painting.
Wet felting involves four things: water, soap, friction and wool.
Though any wool will felt if the conditions are right (except the treated wool mentioned above), some felt easier or better than others. It’s difficult to say only use roving or only use core wool or fleece. It depends on factors like the breed of sheep, the quality of the wool and how it was processed (or not processed). It’s also a bit of personal preference and a bit of old fashioned muscle on the result you get. Many people recommend Merino or Corriedale wool for wet felting, but try different types and see what you think.
When felting a 3-D figure, you will mostly use your hands. Especially if you are sculpting something like felted balls or bowls. When felting a flat piece, like a placemat, you may want to use a rolling pin.
Technique 1: Making Felted Balls
Technique 2: Making Felted Balls
Nuno felting is similar to wet felting but involves applying felt onto another fiber or textile. Many people use Nuno felting to make scarves and shawls. Some are basic and some have beautiful watercolor effects. If Nuno felting, it’s recommended to use a spray bottle rather than a bowl of water.
Nuno Felting
Needle felting involves needles, a felting mat and dry wool.
Sculpting involves shaping with your fingers and a needle on top of a needle felting mat. It should be somewhat firm to firm, but you will most likely be turning your piece quite a bit!
Beginner: Cookie Cutter Felting
Beginner to Early Intermediate: Mini Sheep and Highland Cow
Wool painting is completed on a flat but firm felting mat. You rarely move your piece as it needs to remain flat as you work.
If wool painting, you also need a piece of prefelt or base felt to paint on with your wool and needle. Many people frame this work in a wooden hoop, but it can just as easily be completed without one, such as when painting a birthday crown or a large painting that becomes a framed piece of art or a tapestry.
Painting with Wool
As I mentioned, when painting with wool, you need to choose a base material for your wool painting. The main types that work best are felt sheets, prefelt, fabrics and upcycled wool clothing.
Felt sheets are often called craft felt, but craft felt that you typically find in craft stores is made of synthetic material, is thin, easily tears and has a plastic-like sheen. This is the felt sheet you do NOT want to use for painting with wool.
Instead, look for felt sheets made of either wool blends, usually something like wool and rayon, or made of 100% wool. I prefer 100% wool, but wool blends have a pretty high following due to their increase in strength (though 100% wool is also pretty durable) and their decrease in cost (wool blends cost less than 100% wool).
Wool Felt Sheets used to be difficult to find, but are now starting to pop up many places online. You can find them in precut sizes or sold by the yard. They do tend to cost a bit more so be prepared for a bit of sticker shock, but they are totally worth it. Your painting will be absolutey gorgeous on a wool base.
100% Organic, Bioland Wool Felt Sheets, Plant-dyed by Filges
Another base type is something called prefelt, or preliminary felt. You usually find prefelt in specialty shops that cater to crowds that love the fiber arts. Prefelt is felt that has been partially felted. It's usually a nicely thick base with some texture. As prefelt can vary depending upon where you buy it (vary in its thickness and wool type), I like to make my own by using layers of wool batting and felting it until I'm satisfied with its consistency for my painting.
Prefelt Used as a Base or Backing for your Wool Painting
You can also felt on fabrics such as linen. In fact, linen is one of my favorites. A mid-weight linen tends to do best, in my opinion. But honestly, you can try any fabrics you want. You can needle felt onto fabric shirts, skirts, bags...whatever you are willing to try. You will have better results with some than others, but they are all fair game.
Stack of Linen Fabrics, which can be used as a wool painting base.
If you have an old wool sweater that no longer fits or you like to peruse the thrift stores for diamonds in the rough, finding old wool sweaters are little treasures. You can upcycle them into children's clothes, pillow covers, mittens or even use them as backings in hoops. You can felt them yourself in the washing machine or use them as is. Painting on this type of wool is really lovely.
Old wool sweaters can be felted at home and used as a base for wool paintings.
Wool Painting of a Bumble Bee from a Kit
Needle Felting Kit of a Hare from Scottish brand, Feather Felts
Dachshund Needle Felting Kit by Hawthorn Handmade
6" Wooden Hoop with L Bracket for thick or thin fabrics
Heart Garland DIY Needle Felting Kit
Written by Laura Lowe
Laura is a professional educator with degrees in Environmental Science, as well as Education, with decades of experience working with children and the environment. She’s also an avid crafter, novice hobby farmer, mom to three daughters and six grandchildren under the age of seven. She enjoys every second she can spending time with her husband, children and grandchildren.
More about Laura and Alder and Alouette, here.
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You can purchase plans online. Just make sure you look at your state department of fish and wildlife website to see if there is anything additional or different you need to do to your bat house for the area you live within. I haven't yet found a book version that meets or exceeds the free plans online from the various bat research organizations and the Department of Fish and Wildlife in each state, but if you’d like a book resource, look for those published by Bat Conservation International or Audubon.
Rregardless of if you choose free or bought plans, children will love hammering and sawing. Our children adored it so much anytime we built bat houses with them ( and our grandchildren do too), that they were sad when the project was finished because they wanted to keep hammering and sawing. It’s a great handcraft skill to teach children (fully supervised, of course) and even preschoolers can participate. We think you’ll love it, as well.
Written by Laura Lowe
Laura is a professional educator with degrees in Environmental Science, as well as Education, with decades of experience working with children and the environment. She spent many years studying bats in Central Texas and is passionate about their conservation. She is also an avid crafter, novice hobby farmer, mom to three daughters and six grandchildren under the age of seven. She enjoys every second she can spending time with her husband, children and grandchildren.
More about Laura and Alder and Alouette, here.
]]>Every October is bat appreciation month, and based on my experience, one mammal that should be on the high priority list for educating children about. Do we need to relegate one month of appreciation though? Let’s do a lifetime instead.
As a biologist, who had some of her first field experiences with bats in Central Texas, they are absolutely one of my favorites and one of the most misunderstood species out there. But this is one of those perfect opportunities to teach holistically and immerse every aspect of learning here. First, some batty background.
Microchiroptera Bat
Megachiroptera Bat
Bats have been part of the Earth's system for well over 50 million years. Their fossils began showing up in the Eocene Epoch, which is part of our modern Cenozoic Era. There have been over 1400 bat species discovered as of 2021. Of those, they are divided into two categories of bats: Microchiroptera (mostly insect eating bats) and Megachiroptera (nectar and fruit eating bats). Both types occur in the United States, but only two species are the Megachiroptera, or Megabats (unless you include U.S. territories like Guam and American Samoa, then the total is three), and the rest belong to the microchiroptera group. Bats live an average of 30 years if not affected by human caused devastation, such as habitat destruction, and tend to only have one live pup per year during their reproductive years. They are intelligent mammals that evolved from a common ancestor with horses, whales and pangolins and the only mammal to evolve true flight.
Mexican free-tailed bats emerge from Bracken Cave near San Antonio, Texas to set out on their nightly feeding of pest insects. Credit: Michael Durham_Minden Pictures /Bat Conservation International
Bats are biologically and economically valuable all over the world. They are responsible for pollinating much of Australia's economically important lumber trees and dry eucalyptus forests. Many tropical and sub-tropical rainforest regions rely on bats to keep their forest ecosystems pollinated and regenerating. Over 500 species of plants rely on bats for pollination and wouldn't exist without them. Many of them are ones you are familiar with, such as bananas, guava, figs, mangoes, vanilla, avocadoes, plantains, and agave. Over 90 of those plants provide important medicines we rely on that wouldn't be possible without bats pollinating them. Entire ecosystems in the southwest actually depend on them and would begin to fall apart if they disappeared. And without insectivore bats, we'd be drowning in pest insects that would devastate farmer's crops all over the world.
Bats live in colonies of mostly females and their young. These colonies can number into the millions. Depending upon the species, males may or may not live with the colony. Those that do tend to stay off in smaller groups and those that do not, often live in small groups with each other elsewhere or are solitary until breeding season.
Bats benefit from maintaining a close-knit roosting group because it is important for rearing pups. Photo by Alan Cressler, USGS
To live in groups like this, especially the large female-predominate groups, bats must be able to get along. Studies have repeatedly shown they tend to live in cooperation with each other, even helping out with each other’s young at times, which increases viability rate of offspring. Some species will even bring food back to ailing members of the group and feed them. And though some squabbles may occur over roosting spots, they are short-lived and most vocalizations are socially positive.
Here's a look at a large nursery colony crowded with babies and moms trying to get to them to nurse.
Mothers, especially, are quite chatty with their offspring. And of all that chattiness, studies have recorded up to 50 different vocalizations in some species with around 30 vocalizations on average. Bats will shy away from humans, but bats in captivity have been shown to be extremely gentle and cuddly with humans, as well as with each other. Mothers and babies especially spend a lot of time in close contact, but bats in general spend a lot of time hanging out with each other communicating and grooming. Some even groom each other and seem to enjoy this “spa” treatment.
Here is a video of an Australian bat named Blossom. Blossom bats are only found in one particular region of Australia. It’s believed that she was injured by a cat, and in this video was being rehabilitated for release back into the wild. Watch how much she loves contact and grooming.
This is another video of both types of bats, Megabats and Microbats, with a wildlife rehabilitator. You can see the strong bond different bat species have with her.
Tricolor Bat (microchiroptera); Insect Eating Bat, Russell Cave National Monument, Alabama, U.S.A., National Park Service, 2012
Approximately 45 species of microchiroptera bats live in the United States and Canada. More live in Mexico and Latin America so our entire continent is populated with bats. Most bats of the world live in tropical or subtropical forests and many are fruit eating or nectar feeding bats, but of the species that live in the United States, the majority are insectivores. In just the United States, it’s estimated that bats eating pest insects save farmers an average of 23 billion dollars a year in crop losses and pesticide costs. And any pesticide reduction on our food is a great thing for us too. This estimate doesn’t take into account the pests eaten by bats in forest ecosystems and their value to the timber industry. Nor does it take into account their estimate of insects eaten that would destroy home gardens or the bat value outside of the United States to the rest of the world. Imagine how much more that total would be if we did take all that into consideration.
Lesser Long Nosed Bat Covered in Agave Cactus Flower Pollen, National Park Service, 2010.
In North America, we have two nectar feeding species that migrate to Arizona, New Mexico and Texas every year from Mexico: the Lesser Long Nosed Bat and the Mexican Long Tongued Bat. Both bat species are federally endangered. The Lesser Long Nosed Bat and the Mexican Long Tongued Bat are responsible for pollinating cacti, succulunts, agaves and cardons all over the southwest, including within the Sonoran Desert located mostly in Mexico. In fact, they pollinate the Sauguaro cactus flower there, which only opens one night in spring and is a keystone species. Without the Sauguaro, the entire Sonoran ecosystem would begin to fall apart as a keystone is the glue that holds the system together. Both bats have long, tubular tongues to help them reach nectar inside flowers. In the process they cross pollinate the vast dessert ecosystem's plants. Without the bats, these plants would become non-existent.
Saguero Cactus Flower Blooms that Rely on Megachiroptera Bats, National Park Service
(A few other bats not discussed include a frog-eating bat, a fish eating bay, fruit eating bats and a vampire bat.)
Here’s a short video with a lot of good information for parents who want to teach their children about why we need bats, common bat misconceptions and how we can protect them.
Western Big Eared Bat, Nevada Cave, National Park Service Photo by B.T. Hamilton, 2020
This link will take you to a page with some of my favorite US bats, including one that eats scorpions. That's definitely impressive.
Hoary Bat, Isle Royale National Park, 2014, National Park Service Photo
Join us on Part II of All About Bats for a Few Batty Resources you can use with your children when learning about bats.
Written by Laura Lowe
Laura is a professional educator with degrees in Environmental Science, as well as Education, with decades of experience working with children and the environment. She’s also an avid crafter, novice hobby farmer, mom to three daughters and six grandchildren under the age of seven. She spent many years working with bats in Central Texas and is passionate about their conservation. She enjoys every second she can spending time with her husband, children and grandchildren.
More about Laura and Alder and Alouette, here.
In part one of this series, I discussed some important feautures to look for when choosing high-quality picture books during certain periods of an infant, toddler and preschooler's development. Today, I'd like to continue with Interactive Books, Repetition Reading, the Great Leap in Imagination for Preschoolers, and how books can encourage and help with difficult emotions, empathy, connections to nature and more. We will round out today's post with the development of the sense of humor in preschoolers and how high-quality picture books can even encourage this along, as well.
Who doesn’t remember those lift-a-flap books? Children adore them. When my children were young I hesitated buying them because they’d rip so easily. Today, thankfully, they are a bit more sturdy. These types of books are called interactive books and are part of a category called concept books. Included in this category are books about opposites, similarities, the alphabet, shapes or numbers, but the interactive books generally require a bit more effort. They include die-cut books, see-through books, peek-through-hole books, layer books, finger puppet books and lever and slide books. Don’t forget action oriented books too. Toddlers love to participate in noises and actions as part of the story.
In fact, learning about animal names and their noises is an important step in their language development and one you should whole-heartedly encourage by joining in! As children grow older, interactive books can help children form predictions, make connections, practice sequencing, play with cause and effect, experience textures, play with sounds.... One of the fun parts I enjoyed around this age with my children was connecting the books to real life anytime we could--hatching caterpillar eggs, watching their life cycle, then releasing the butterflies into the garden after reading an interactive book on butterflies is just one easy example.
First The Egg is a beautifully illustrated, award winning interactive book full of die cuts that present change from seed to flower, tadpole to frog and caterpillar to butterfly and is a fun, engaging book for toddlers.
Here are two beautiful, newer interactive books by Aaron Becker. He uses translucent colors, die cuts, layering, inserts and more as part of the interaction. The translucent pieces layer on top of other colors from pages underneath, forming different colors with each turn of the page. And when held up to the light, some of the pages are just magical. Even though one of these is a board book format, they are both more appropriate for preschoolers 4 years and up.
Peek-A-Boo! was actually written for infants and toddlers up to two years, but has maintained a wider-aged audience over time. It was first published in 1981 and created by Janet and Allan Ahlberg in the United Kingdom as the book Peepo. Once it made its way to America, it was renamed Peek-A-Boo for American audiences.
Toddlers love this book, and it’s lasted so long as a favorite by parents too because of the historical nostalgia and the charmingly pretty artwork. My preschooler loved learning about the older wood burning stoves and irons heated in the fireplace and just examining all the objects in the artwork of this cluttered, yet very normal home full of laundry, toys, family and pets. What makes this book interactive, though, for little ones is that it “follows a baby through the day in a style full of wit, charm and ingenuity.
A series of holes peeping through to the next page leads the child on to the next stage in the day, giving a hint of what is to come.”* Toddlers can’t help but look through the hole to the next page and make their predictions of what’s to happen! This book also integrates rhyme and conversational text with the brilliant artwork for even more benefits.
This Lift-the-Flap book, What’s Hiding in There? by Daniela Drescher, is illustrated in Drescher’s characteristic, vibrantly beautiful painting style. You’ll be surprised, and your preschooler delighted, when you see what’s hiding behind these flaps! This lovely book is a difficult book to get in the United States, and when it is in stock, it sells out quickly. We keep a close eye on this favorite at Alder and Alouette. Once it's back in stock, though, it's guaranteed to sell out, so if you see this book anywhere, grab it while you can!
Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg is a ‘seek and find’ game nearly every preschooler knows, but with a twist. As you read the story aloud to them, it gives a clue about a nursery rhyme or fairytale character who is hidden within the charming illustrations. Children get to seek out Tom Thumb, Old Mother Hubbard, the Three Bears, Cinderella, Mary and her little lambs, Jack and Jill and more. The text is fun and the artwork is lovely.
My five-year-old granddaughter was quick to point out something she thought was hilarious in this book: once the Three Bears were introduced, they kept showing up in inappropriate places. She thought it was even more funny, however, that Baby Bear “just can’t stop falling over,” which was quite true. And, yes, a wee bit funny. With her preschool humor, she had the biggest laugh over this slapstick humor, while I, on the other hand, was enthralled with her genuine amusement and infectious laughter.
You also want books that are readable over and over, so look for books with stories that follow a more exciting format, which every middle schooler knows: an introduction, rising action, a climax, falling action and a resolution. Yep. Even picture books need this to have a chance at being memorable.
We love animal books and seasons books in childhood! Choose books about nature and the organisms that we should all be concerned about in addition to farm animals and adorable autumn squirrels and fall foliage. As well as including nature stories that include fantastic, magical creatures for the imagination, include nature stories about real events. Counting Birds is one such event that grew from one person's perseverance. Honeybee teaches us the importance of bees to our own survival and Migration introduces a diversity of migrating animals across the planet and what happens when their path is blocked by humans and not blocked by humans. These books not only encourage empathy, but also show human-nature connections, science-in-action, diversity of life, expanded world view, and cause and effect. They also have beautiful artwork and age-appropriate everyday language.
While toddlers delight in books like Peek-A-Boo, preschoolers, on the other hand, have a unique sense of humor. Don't forget to add a little silliness to your picture book collection for this special age. Then prepare to enjoy their laughs and watch their amazement and intense observations of the amusing illustrations. You'll be glad you did and have some great memories, along with all the other fabulous moments you shared with your child. Books are great. They do have a way of making things better.
Picture books can be found for all ages and there are a lot of high-quality ones out there, but there are also a lot of not so great ones. One way the picture book trend has continued into upper elementary and middle school is the graphic novel style. But that's a ways down the road. What about that storytelling component I mentioned a few times in passing? Aren't we storytelling when we read to our children? Why do chapter books for young children begin to use less and less illustrations? I thought high-quality art was a thing with great books? I hope you can join me for part three when I discuss the next important part we can play in our child's brain development with stories and chapter books. If you’d like to be notified when that page posts, sign up for our newsletter on the homepage!
Written by Laura Lowe
Laura is a professional educator with degrees in Environmental Science, as well as Education, with decades of experience working with children and the environment. She’s also an avid crafter, bibliophile, novice hobby farmer, mom to three daughters and six grandchildren under the age of seven. She enjoys every second she can spending time with her husband, children and grandchildren.
More about Laura and Alder and Alouette, here.
]]>I’ve always been a reader, and my children loved reading, or being read to, from the time they were babies and beyond. When they were younger, I took them to the library frequently in between our special book purchases. We’d comb through the children’s stacks looking for books to drag home by the armloads. Many of the books displayed, however, were popular and well-known, but not always high-quality. I relied on my instincts, my upbringing, and a great librarian to pull out the weeds and keep the flowers.
One of the first books I remember was Mother Goose. I remember loads of picture books too—left over from the ages of new baby to independent preschooler. Before I could read, I’d study those illustrations and retell those stories and nursery rhymes aloud to myself. I loved absorbing those colorful, intricate illustrations, and my childhood books had been illustrated by some of history’s greatest, though that bespeaks my age! You can read about the benefits of nursery rhymes for young children here. Let’s talk more about picture books.
I was lucky enough to have thoughtful primary teachers who were selective with the picture and chapter books they read aloud. The Wonderful Adventures of Nils is one of those timeless chapter-picture books, which one of my teachers had luckily brought back from Europe. This enchanting read-aloud is for ages six and up and has been delighting children for more than 112 years! Thankfully, we have a more global book trade today than during my childhood; this book is now available in the United States, too.
“Sometimes, a good thing is passed along for generations not because of tradition so much as because it works, no matter the time period.”
- a very wise professor of mine, Clipper Maxwell
One thing I instinctually knew, and now understand why, was that children need a specific progression of storytelling, along with certain types of books--and here is the super important part--during specific “windows” of their development. Doing this will increase memory, phonics, sequencing, vocabulary, speech, imagination, pretend play, visualization, creativity, empathy and even...writing and spelling skills. Yep. Hearing correct pronunciation of words and a large variety of words from frequently reading high-quality books aloud to a child during the right developmental window has a positive correlation to developing good writing and spelling skills down the road.
Choosing high-quality picture books for infants and toddlers is one of the most important starting points you can make for this journey (along with the habit of reading to them daily!). Continuing that practice through their preschool years and beyond is the next. But what does a high-quality picture book look like? How do you know when you find one? Well, one place to start is with the art. Before we move on to that part of the discussion, here are a few books that fall into that realm. You may already have a few on your shelf!
Of course picture books can be found for children of all ages, even adults. Here are a few books that are best for children ages 3 or 4 and up.
When looking for a high-quality picture book, be picky. You’re growing your child’s brain. Find books with beautiful artwork. Young children love bright, vivid colors, but soft pastels or monotones, if done well, can also be attention-grabbing and just as loved, mood-setting, beneficial and engaging. Choose artwork that isn’t abstract during these early years. That’s confusing to very young children. Save Picasso for when they’re older. The illustrations should be so well done at this level that they tell the story without needing the text.
Choose picture books that are engaging and diverse. Save the emergent and new reader books for when they are, well, learning to read (and even then, be picky). Rhyme and repetition are great to include, if done correctly. Rhyming and repetition are both ways children learn language. However, there is such a thing as irrelevant and overdone so always read through the picture book before you buy it or check it out from the library!
Here are the first two pages of Hello Farm, How Do You Do?, a high-quality board book for infants and toddlers. Notice the beautifully illustrated, realistic artwork from Loes Botman. The author, Marjolein Thiebout, uses both the rhyme and repetition patterns from the first page throughout the book, as well as animal sounds, something every toddler loves to emulate. This delightful little board book checks high-quality box after box for toddlers and parents everywhere.
Any Room for Me? is a classic story with soft, beautiful illustrations and gentle, repetitive language mixed with conversational sentences. It's a great message about sharing and uses relevant, repetitive language that children love without it being overdone. The message of kindness and sharing is an example of adding a bit more for their increased age than just the animal theme, rhyme and repetition. No longer is a story just about the animals appearance and vocalizations. It now models behaviors too — sharing, kindness and empathy. Sharing and other similar behaviors don’t happen naturally. Children develop these behaviors when it is frequently modeled around them, even within their books. Children from ages 3 to 6 years tend to love this book.
Here's a book with rhyme my little ones love from a sweet book about taking care of nature called The Knottles. Taking care of nature is another extension on the progression of books and an important theme to introduce during early childhood. Again, this behavior doesn’t happen naturally and books like this help us model that kind of concern and carefulness we should all have about life on our planet. Nature stories like this also help children make connections to the natural world we should be in tune with.
The Knottles by Nancy Mellon and illustrated by Ruth Lieberherr; Steiner Books, Ages 3-6 years
An even better book-to-life connection for my children with this book was that after reading the book several times, we planted several trees. My little ones connected the book to the forests that surrounded our property (their world view isn’t very large at this age). Now, every year, we plant trees somewhere in need of them beyond where we live as they are older. For nostalgia, we always read this book first. It’s a nice little family tradition.
The Knottles has an age rating of three to six years, but my personal opinion is wait until four years, and reading this book through age seven is still good too! This book has a softer art presence and evokes imagination with little tree gnomes in the story. Childhood imagination begins to develop sometime during the third year, so reading this book too soon may cause the story to slip over their heads. Their sense-of-self and world view also expands around year four, so if you aren’t surrounded by forest like we are, it may be harder for them to make a connection before age four. This is also a good example of why parents should always pre-read books for their children and listen to their intuition, not necessarily to the age written in the book’s description.
Including books with rich text full of everyday langauge is also a given. You want to grow your child's vocabulary, not bore them. When you speak in short, choppy sentences that are essentially irrelevant to life, they aren't learning as much as if you spoke using everyday language. Hearing you speak in conversational or everyday-type sentences, hearing your intonations, hearing a wide variety of words spoken precisely, simple to complex...that's extremely beneficial to a child’s language development. Hannah on the Farm is a good example of conversational text appropriate for children up to age three. Hello Lighthouse is a good example of rich text, and The House of Lost and Found is a great example of both rich text and coversational sentences for preschoolers.
Written by Laura Lowe
Laura is a professional educator with degrees in Environmental Science, as well as Education, with decades of experience working with children and the environment. She’s also a lover of literature, novice hobby farmer, mom to three daughters and six grandchildren under the age of seven. She enjoys every second she can spending time with her husband, children and grandchildren.
More about Laura and Alder and Alouette, here.
Do you read Mother Goose to your children? A friend of mine stopped by last week to chat with her own Mother Goose tale. You see, she’d given a gift to her daughter and newborn granddaughter: a new printing of The Original Mother Goose along with a more modern depiction with gorgeous, vibrant artwork by talented Gina Baek. She told her daughter she’d wished she’d taken more time to read Mother Goose to her as a child; however, she wanted to hold true to that with her granddaughter.
My friend told her daughter she wanted to keep one version of the Nursery Rhymes at her house for visits and one version was to stay at her daughter’s. Her daughter chuckled, then told her mom, “Why don’t you choose which one to keep, Mom. Mother Goose seems dated, so this will be more your thing than mine.” My friend said it tore her heart to hear that.
She wanted to know what I thought about that from an educator’s perspective. Was Mother Goose something the younger generations should just give up? Instead of telling her my opinion about the book, I told her what I knew about sound, rhythm, speech, rhyme and language development in children.
Everything a child does from the moment they enter this world is a series of progressions. One must be mastered before they progress to the next. But it’s the experiences that drive the level of brain development during these progressions. Babies crawl before they walk. They babble before they speak. They speak before they learn to write and read. And they observe, observe, observe with all their senses. The more rich the experiences, the better their brain develops. The more their brain develops, the more they progress.
So what about the actual nursery rhymes. Why Mother Goose? And what does it have to do with what I just explained about brain development in children? I promise that it will connect.
These tales have been passed through time since at least the 1700s, probably earlier. So, did my friend’s daughter have a point? Think about how we intuitively speak to babies: a sing-song voice with lots of repetition and soft rhythms and sounds. The sing-song sound catches their attention. It’s a soothing sound to them, as any parent who’s calmed a crying baby can attest. It doesn’t matter if your baby was born in 1700 or today. All babies respond to this type of voice. That hasn’t changed. And Mother Goose…she’s all about sing-song rhymes, rhythms, repetition and sound.
Though no one is exactly sure where the nursery rhymes originated, a ‘Mother Goose’ in France was a name for a storyteller who could captivate children’s attention. And young children are definitely captivated by hearing and repeating rhymes as toddlers and preschoolers. In fact, the preschooler will persist with a rhyme until they can recite it as close to correct as possible. I can’t tell you how many times my children and I sang "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" or chanted "Rain, Rain Go Away." My children loved these little verses. I have vivid memories of them as two and three year old’s, lugging their big Mother Goose Book around asking me to read it again. And again. And yet again. But I relished it. I enjoyed every part of it, for I knew this was part of their language development and moments I’d miss as they grew up.
Along with conversing with your baby as you shop, cook, drive, play, and so on (social language) repetition of rhyme helps toddlers learn phonetics. It helps them make a distinction between the sounds in this music called language. It helps them connect the sounds to words and the words to objects or experiences. This is one important way a baby learns speech.
Reciting the rhymes as they grow older is beneficial too. It aids in developing the tongue and mouth muscles, allowing children to refine the sounds as they recite the rhymes. It is this rhyme, rhythm, and repetition of sounds that leads children to the next progression in language development, that of imagination and eventually, to holding imagery in their minds. This is part of what helps them progress beyond picture books, being able to “see” the story play out in their head as they are read to or as they read. Rhymes and repetition play a critical role in getting to that step.
Preschoolers and Kindergartners are the master of the nursery rhymes. They seem to never tire of the repetition of their favorites. If they’ve heard the nursery rhymes enough through their early years, they can make an easier progression to that next level. And with imagery and imagination, comes creativity next. All of this because of nursery rhymes.
Nursery rhymes are an amazingly wonderful tool to aid your child’s language development. Interestingly, there just haven’t been that many modern nursery rhymes that held my children’s attention like the ones passed along for generations and generations. I mean, there IS a reason these rhymes stood the test of time. And though positive parenting would never put Jack Horner in a corner, I wouldn’t change the rhyming, sing-song verses of Mother Goose for my kids for anything.
Today, my children have grown up and have their own children. One of the first gifts each of my daughters received from me with the birth of their children was also a copy of The Original Mother Goose, as well as a richly illustrated, more modern version. Though the older illustrations are beautiful in their own way and interesting to children to examine around the ages of four to six or seven, adding rich, vibrant color to them in modern versions has additional rewards for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers under the age of around four or five, hence the two versions. But we can explore the benefits of beautiful picture books next time! For now, how long has it been since you read Mother Goose to your baby, toddler or preschooler?
Written by Laura Lowe
Laura is a professional educator with degrees in Environmental Science, as well as Education, with decades of experience working with children and the environment. She’s also an avid crafter, lover of books and stories, novice hobby farmer, mom to three daughters and six grandchildren under the age of seven. She enjoys every second she can spending time with her husband, children and grandchildren.
More about Laura and Alder and Alouette, here.
]]>About two and half years ago, I stumbled across these beautifully hand-crafted wooden animals in a gift shop. These little wooden animals, called polepoles, were expertly carved from light-weight wood, smooth as any wood could be, and with hand-painted details giving each animal its own character. There were Safari Animals, South American Animals, Woodland Animals, Rainforest Animals, Oceanic Animals and my favorites: Dinosaurs! These adorable toy figures were painted in a monochromatic black and white, but there was a warmth to them that made you pick them up and just hold them. In fact, I thought they were pretty enough to set out on a shelf, yet the perfect size for my grandchildren’s small hands during play. A toy that could masquerade as décor. Perfect.
After talking to the shop owner, I discovered they were made by a Japanese company called T-Lab from a sustainably grown Indonesian wood called Albizia falcataria. This light-weight, low density wood is from a fast growing tropical and sub-tropical tree related to trees you may know as Mimosa trees or Silk trees. These nitrogen producing trees replenish the soil and provide shade for other tree species, as well, and so if harvested in a sustainable fashion, provide more good than just beautiful toys.
But speaking of toys...this light-weight wood lends itself to carving and sanding, yielding a buttery-smooth wood. You can't help but touch these polepoles because they feel unbelievably soft for a wooden toy. They are so pretty that I had trouble buying just a couple because I wanted them all!
Upon returning home, I called the company and was over the moon when I found out they would soon be offered for sale in the United States. And being the inquisitive soul I am, I found out more interesting information about these little gems while I had the company representative on the phone.
Polepole (pronounced ‘poh-leh poh-leh’) is a Swahili word that references the slow, careful, hand-crafted process T-Lab artisans use to create each perfect little animal. “How are they made slowly,” I asked. “What’s the process?” I found out artisans cut a “rough form row” of animals from one long, solid piece of wood that has been cut into a thick, long board. Each board makes many of these adorable animals. Once carved into this board, the craftspeople separate the rough forms and dry them in ovens for an extended amount of time. Once removed, they are detailed by hand-carving and sanding until they reach that silky smooth texture. Afterwards, they are off to another artisan to hand-paint each and every polepole individually. This is why T-Lab has this adorable quote on their website that says, “Please enjoy our heart-warming animals, after all, the one that you hold in your hand is the only one in the world quite like it.” I completely agree T-Lab. Thank you for these super sweet, open-ended play toys.
Where can you get your own polepole animals? Check them out at Alder & Alouette.
In the meantime, enjoy this cute, short video clip of polepole animals from youtube.
Written by Laura Lowe
Laura is a professional educator with degrees in Environmental Science, as well as Education, with decades of experience working with children and the environment. She’s also an avid crafter, traveler, book lover, novice hobby farmer, mom to three daughters and six grandchildren under the age of seven.
More about Laura and Alder and Alouette, here.
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Written by Laura Lowe
Laura is a professional educator with degrees in Environmental Science, as well as Education, with decades of experience working with children and the environment. She’s also an avid crafter, lover of books and storytelling, novice hobby farmer, mom to three daughters and six grandchildren under the age of seven. She enjoys every second she can spending time with her husband, children and grandchildren.
More about Laura and Alder and Alouette, here.
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We welcome other writers as well. In fact, we want a community of writers for The Little Lark.
Contact us at alderandalouette@outlook.com if you would like to have an article about parenting, family, children, crafts, freebies or other related topics considered for posting with us. Help us make our blog the Best Family Lifestyle Blog that we can!
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So get ready for some of the best bedtime picture books for imagination that have been kid-tested and mother-approved. But first…picture book illustrations.
Why the Illustration Artwork is so Important
Illustration art in a picture book can make the difference between a memorable book and one that fades quickly away. My first favorite picture book was all about the art. In fact, I don’t remember the story, but I know the story based on the artwork. To this day, I can see those beautiful charcoal drawings in my head anytime I want. It left that much of an impression on me.
This first school-age memory of a picture book was first grade, sitting criss-cross applesauce on the reading rug, staring up at my teacher, Ms. Ansley, with my pig tails, most likely tied in ribbons, tilted back as I stared up at the book she read and held out for us see: Robert McCloskey’s Make Way for Ducklings.
This 1942 Caldecott winning book, both written and illustrated by McCloskey, was published in 1941, but more than three decades later, it was still considered a ‘must read’ in our primary school.
But it was the art that I found a must. I was fascinated with this world beyond mine created in the charcoal drawings of this book: This sweet duck family in this place called Boston.
Until then, I’d never imagined anyplace outside my little town. I daydreamed about that book for days and imagined myself in Boston, and wondered what city life must be like for ducks, and for people! I checked that book out of the library as fast as I could and remember just sitting and flipping through those beautiful drawings over and over.
Though beautifully illustrated in its own right, it no longer makes its way onto the ‘must read’ list as other up and coming picture books have taken its place. So it goes, as each decade or two a few new winners push aside a few of the old timers. But all these decades later, I still look for that ‘wow’ feeling when looking through new picture books...and they have some big shoes to fill!
Though Make Way for Ducklings will forever hold a special place in my heart, there really are so many great picture books out there that even I admit, deserve to push aside this classic...although please be gentle as you do. And maybe don’t push...just casually slide or lovingly stack it near the back for now. But remember to get it out every now and then and dreamily reminisce.
So where to begin? That’s an impossible task. There are too many amazing picture books. Instead of beginning, let’s just jump in and find some good artwork in a few books I had the pleasure of reading with the little ones in my life in 2020. And speaking of 2020, let’s just be thankful our children could escape into these lovely stories as they probably needed that as much as we grownups did.
I’ve never been big on graphic novels. It just wasn’t something my children were into growing up, nor I as a teacher. But being a science educator, I wasn’t super concerned about them. If it helped kids read and their parents and Language Arts teacher all approved, who was I to argue them down. Little did I know, I was sooo missing out on some really great illustrations (and stories too).
Originally written for older children, this style worked it’s way down to younger children’s books. And science teacher or not, I now had to face this style with grace as a certain four year old in our family insisted this graphic novel style picture book was our next great bedtime book: Lift by author Minh Le and illustrator Dan Santat.
Combining the traditional picture book format with the graphic novel style, Dan Santat’s illustrations with Mihn Le’s story were not what I expected. The illustrations by Santat captured the emotions of the main character, Iris, and her family in a way that words could not. I found myself stifling funny laughs as I could completely relate with the illustrated expressions of Iris’ parents throughout the book, especially after she pushed ALL the elevator buttons.
But this isn’t a wordless picture book. Le seems to have a knack for telling a great story using an economy of words. Combined with Santat’s illustrations, it’s the perfect formula for imagination.
So, we read this story, Lift, about a girl who becomes jealous of her baby brother when he usurps her at the elevator button pushing. She then finds a broken button from 'their' elevator and tapes it onto her bedroom wall near her closet only to find out pushing it will take her on amazing journeys. She later discovers that sharing her magical journey with someone she loves, like her little brother, was more fun than going on the journey alone. Once we finished reading, I watched as that certain four year old slowly flipped back through, studying each page’s illustrations as if it were a master painting on display in a museum.
She was enamored with the story but even more with the pictures, and the lesser words allowed her to develop her own version of what it was like to travel through space as an astronaut or as an explorer in a jungle or as a traveler through a snowy mountain pass.
Out of all the books this year, I have to say Lift was our favorite and most requested at bedtime. And afterwards, there always had to be another flip thru, only this time without the story aloud. I loved seeing her little imagination work and hear the questions and comments she made, and I highly recommend this book!
Here are a few more of our favorite picture books, most new but some not, that we discovered this year for bedtime, including one for older children!
More Best Bedtime Picture Books
A Wave of Stars by Dolores Brown (Author) and Sonja Wimmer (Illustrator) is a dreamy story about what happens when sea animals look at a moon bow. I found this book engaging and so pretty, but better for older children (who don’t need the story to end each night and enjoy a little suspense).
If I Couldn’t Be Anne by Kallie George (Author) and Geneviève Godbout (Illustrator), is a great choice for your littlest ones ready for picture book bedtime stories. A fun book too as your observant little ones will start to notice something different that shouldn't be with the turn of the pages!
A Story About Afiyah by James Berry (Author) and Anna Cunha (Illustrator), the second most requested book in our house at bedtime this year: a beautiful story in words and pictures, but another book where the art was appreciated by dozens and dozens of flip-throughs.
Granny’s Clan: A Tale of Wild Orcas by Dr. Sally Hodson (Author) and Ann Jones (Illustrator) is a few years old, but has such dreamy, beautiful ocean illustrations about the real members of the Pacific Northwest’s Clan of Orca Pods and their dear matriarch, Granny, that it became a repeat reader too. This book will be especially endearing to your budding Marine Biologists.
Goodnight Anne by Kallie George (Author) and Geneviève Godbout (Illustrator), an award winning bedtime story with dreamy artwork as Anne dreams her garden and its inhabitants a wish of a good night's sleep.
Time Flies by Eric Rohmann, an oldie, but wow, what a beautiful goodie! This one has stood the test of time in my household from my daughters to now their children. This wordless picture book is breathtaking and kids, especially your dinosaur lovers, will love the story they can tell on their own from the art.
Just Because by Mac Barnett (Author) and Isabelle Arsenault (Illustrator), a winner of the Best Illustrated Children's Book Awards and a nice book to cuddle with and have little 'but why' answers to some great questions for good dreams.
Stories of the Night by Kitty Crowther, a book with three bedtime stories and beautiful, dreamy illustrations that look even dreamier under a low light for bedtime.
Pick a few out and try them. Both you and your little ones will have great memories of beautiful books at bedtime. Sweet Dreams!
Written by Laura Lowe
Laura is a professional educator with degrees in Environmental Science, as well as Education, with decades of experience working with children and the environment. She’s also an avid crafter, lover of storytelling and books, novice hobby farmer, mom to three daughters and six grandchildren under the age of seven. She enjoys every second she can spending time with her husband, children and grandchildren.
More about Laura and Alder and Alouette, here.
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