Tag Archives: garden

Simply Luminous

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It’s beautiful, botanical, and inspiring…find your little light in the darkness with this lovely garden box illuminated with shimmering votive candles!

We read Just One Little Light, written by Kat Yeh, and illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault (Balzer + Bray, 2023). With its gorgeous colors and uplifting text, the reader is powerfully reminded that even in darkness, just one little light is enough to light the way. Have faith. Your little light will always lead you to the path of beauty and hope.

You’ll need:

  • 1 small box
  • Colored cellophane
  • Decorative flowers and leaves
  • LED votive candles
  • Scissors, tape, and glue for construction

We used 4.5″ x 4.5″ x 3″ cupcake boxes with window lids (if you’re using a regular box, simply cut a window in the lid). Next, cover the window with a piece of colored cellophane. Place votive candles inside the box, then finish by decorating the outside of the box with tons of paper flowers and leaves!

Once the kids garden boxes were finished, we hid them around the gallery, and kids went forth to find their own unique little lights! Note: we recommend writing the kids’ names on the bottom of the box, just to avoid confusion.

While this was a quiet and simple project, it was incredibly cozy and the kids absolutely loved it. Our story time can sometimes get a little raucous, so this sweet and mellow project was a delightful change of pace.

Did you know that Kat Yeh doesn’t just write picture books? Check out our interview with her about her middle grade novels The Truth About Twinkie Pie, and The Way to Bea. Also! Katie tested the recipe for Twinkie pie in the Pop Goes the Page blog kitchen. See how it turned out here! Mmmmmmm.

finished twinkie pie 3

Ah, Those Cows and Flowers

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Spend a peaceful afternoon in the fields, enjoying the beautiful flowers and warm sunshine. Gentle cow and cork trees included!

We read The Story of Ferdinand, written by by Munro Leaf, and illustrated Robert Lawson (Viking, 1936). This literary classic tells the tale of Ferdinand, a bull who would rather sit and smell the flowers than fuss and fight. When he is mistakenly put in the bull ring, Ferdinand stays true to his peaceful nature and refuses to charge. It’s the ultimate tale of staying true to yourself and being happier for it.

You’ll need:

  • 1 large tissue box
  • 1 flower coloring template, printed on 8.5″ x 11″ card stock
  • Construction paper
  • Assorted pipe cleaners
  • Scissors and tape for construction
  • Markers for decorating

This project is basically an alternative version of the flower boxes we made for this butterfly garden story time. We just used large tissue boxes instead of box tops.

finished butterfly gardenIn additional to using the flowers on the template, you can also use tissue paper to make lovely flowers, and use drinking straws and sparkle stems to add some texture!

Once the flowers were done, we headed out to the fields to meet Ferdinand the bull! I made him out of a couple shipping boxes. The back of the head was open so I could reach in, and I also cut a hole at the bottom of the head as a “mouth.” During story time, the kids offered their flowers to Ferdinand for sniffing. I had a little air pump inside the head that would puff air out and make the flowers tremble.

I have to say, the air puffs freaked a few kids out. But we also had a basket of red pom pom apples nearby to feed Ferdinand, and that was a massively popular activity. He ate apples for a solid 15 minutes!

This this isn’t the first time Ferdinand has appeared on the blog. You can see him enjoying the spring buds here (as well as a really cool wildflower identification website), and he gets a mention in our International Children’s Book Day list here. We love you Ferdinand!

Go a Little Wild!

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Yes, there’s a time and place for proper behavior, but what happens when a tiger wants to go a little…wild?

We read Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown (Little, Brown, 2013, read here by Glasgow’s Improvement Challenge) Mr. Tiger is feeling stifled in the city with its mundane homes, drab clothing, and polite conversations. So he tries something different. He (gasp!) drops on all fours. This begins a chain of experiences that ultimately ends with Mr. Tiger running around the wilderness in just his stripes. But it’s lonely being on your own. Can Mr. Tiger’s friends maybe change a little bit and join him? Because sometimes, a little wild is a good thing!

In keeping with Mr. Tiger’s duel lives, this project begins with his house in the city…

Then rotate the box to visit the wilderness on the other side!

You’ll need:

  • One 4.5” X 4.5” x 9” craft box (a large tissue box works too)
  • 1 smaller box for the interior
  • Green and brown poster board
  • Construction paper
  • 1 toilet paper tube
  • 1 tiger house template, printed on 8.5″ x 11″ card stock
  • Scissors, glue, and tape for construction
  • Markers for decorating

Begin by cutting the top off the large box, as well as two windows on opposing sides. Next, glue a smaller box inside so your toilet paper tube tiger can peep out of the windows. Finally, use poster board and construction paper to decorate the city and wilderness sides! For added wilderness texture, we offered kids fabric flowers, green tissue paper, crepe paper streamers, and paper crinkle. The results were AWESOME!

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We do, however, want to give a special nod to the creative individual who decided to put a hobbit door on Mr. Tiger’s city abode…

Next, use construction paper and markers to decorate a toilet paper tube like a tiger. Also, since clothing plays an important role in the book, we taped a little top hat to the top of the city window, and a little Hawaiian shirt to the bottom of the wilderness window.

There’s funny dialogue in the book, so we added speech bubbles on the tiger house template, as well as directions signs for the blank sides of the box!

We absolutely LOVE Peter Brown’s work…check out Creepy Carrots, this illuminating underwear, a growing garden, and a visit to Peter’s studio!