Family in Feast and Feria

We're busy working on our garden. Spring is busting out all over! Ambrose jubilantly runs to me and says "It's spring, Mommy! It's spring!" Indeed it is! Every spring I put on my rose-colored glasses and smile. The world is new again, bursting with life. It's so wonderful to see our spring season reflecting the Easter joy of Christ's Resurrection.

A while back Dawn posted a nice list of Garden Books for Children. Inspired by this list, I checked out my library for titles. I couldn't find all she mentioned, but I did find some. I also have some on the shelves that I've introduced, or REintroduced during this season. As ds is still quite young, I'm just trying to relate the joy of new life, introduce the seasonal cycles of the year, the growing patterns, basic elements of gardening, and of course flowers, vegetables, plants and BUGS.

Just as I was typing up this post, Elizabeth Foss finished up her wonderful post Down the Garden Trail. I encourage you to stop by to get inspired. Also check in at 4Real Learning for other garden trail ideas.

Here's our humble little list for young ones to read to reinforce what goes on outside.

Garden Art:

In the Garden with Van Gogh by Julie Merberg and Suzanne Bober

A Picnic with Monet by Julie Merberg and Suzanne Bober
Two favorite board books that use works of art to paint lovely peaceful picnic and garden scenes.

Philippe in Monet's Garden by Lisa Jobe Carmack.
This is a fun book about a frog who came to live in Monet's Garden. The book uses some of Monet's works to illustrate.

Gardening:

The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss, pictures by Crockett Johnson.
How many times did we read this book I'll never know. Ds had it memorized quickly. But this year he actually held carrot seeds in his hands and will be able to experience watching it grow.


Jody's Beans by Malachy Doyle, illustrated by Judith Allibone
Jody is given twelve bean seeds by her grandfather. He helps Jody all through the season to grow her pole beans, and we read the steady progress. I enjoy this story because you see the generations of a family interacting, loving and teaching each other.


The Flower Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta, Illustrated by Leslie Evans
Right now my son is at a stage where he wants the names of everything. He wants to label it in his mind. We walk through our garden and he points: "What's that?" I answer the name, such as Petunia. He repeats it to himself. So this book is an extension of our little id walks.


Jack's Garden by Henry Cole
Based on the nursery rhyme, "The House That Jack Built," Jack plants a flower garden. The steps and illustrations cover all the tools, stages, flowers, bugs, birds and other things one will see as the garden grows. The pictures are wonderfully detailed and labeled....another book that's fascinating to dear son to put identifying names to objects.

Bugs

Insects Do the Strangest Things by Leonora Hornblow
This was one of my childhood favorites. It's out of print, but a great book to introduce insects to children.

Terry and the Caterpillars by
Millicent E. Selsam, illustrated by Arnold Lobel
This is my other "childhood bug book." Terry catches some caterpillars and watches them make cocoons and turn into moths. Also out of print, but easy to find.

Seasons:

The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
This classic book is well-loved in our home, especially for the wonderful depictions of the changing of seasons.

Around the Year by Tasha Tudor
Walk through the months of the year and the changing of seasons with Tudor's wonderful drawings. We never tire of her pictures.

A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Tasha Tudor
Not all the poetry is easily digested by my son at this age, but I'm introducing small bits, and the lavish illustrations help convey the meaning.


Around the Year by Elsa Maartman Beskow
Dawn suggested this book and we love it! This follows months of the year with a lovely poem and illustration for each month.

Reaping from God's Garden:

Because we shop for our food and clothing, I want to have books that show the work and the various steps involved in bringing food to the table.

Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
We are reading this to see how food can be picked elsewhere than out of our garden or the grocery store aisles. Blueberries are one of my son's favorite fruits, so he really enjoys reading about picking blueberries. The highlight of the book is actual the inside cover illustration, where Sal and her mother are canning the blueberries. That is a wonderful picture of mother and child working together in the kitchen. It's not perfect, it's not neat, but it's loving and productive.

Pelle's New Suit by Elsa Maartman Beskow
Pelle has a little lamb whose wool helps him make a new suit. We follow the process of all the steps required in making cloth and sewing a suit, but also see the chores he does (bartering), like weeding, tending animals, chopping wood, to get help from others.

Pancakes, Pancakes! by Eric Carle
Another step-by-step process in making pancakes, from harvesting the wheat, grinding into flour, milking the cow, etc.

Spring is here and 4RealLearning Forums are buzzing with activity in their home gardens and gardening with their children. I am particularly drawn into the Herb and Vegetable Discussions, Mary's Flowers and even Saints in the Garden.

Our family is working hard on establishing our vegetable and herb garden, and also spruce up the front garden. This is our first spring here, so it's a little extra work.

Some of the 4RealLearning Moms have wonderful gardening blogs that are talking about their gardens, such as Elizabeth's children at Blossom and Bees. I'm really enjoying the photos.

Dawn had a wonderful post on May 15: Feast of St. Isidore the Farmer. St. Isidore the Farmer is one of my favorite saints. I think it has to do with my favorite book, Cooking for Christ. Peek into her Mary's Garden to see the lovely flowers.

Theresa talks about her different garden beds and how she will name them after saints in Digging In.

Just stop and rest at Alice's Cottage Garden. It cannot fail to refresh and inspire you.

Christine at Our Lady's Garden has been busy setting up her family garden. I lost a few hours after reading her post on Herb Robert as a noxious week. I started looking for weed information in my state, and found Department of Plant Pathology, Physiology, and Weed Science-Virginia Tech and Noxious Weed Photos from Virginia Tech Turfgrass Research Center, Blacksburg, Montgomery Co., VA. I identified one weed I've been pulling up at regular rates is yellow woodsorrel. More wonderful pictures can be found at Rutgers. I'm still trying to find out what that prickly plant I keep weeding is called.

Stefoodie's Garden also has some wonderful photos. Stef is in a new garden and trying to identify all the flora that's already there.

Wortcunning by Spinneretta has me constantly coming back for me. I'm so impressed by her knowledge of herbs...and longing to borrow a few of her herb books!

Don't miss Mousey Trails by MacBeth for some living science inspiration!

These are the gardening blogs...but almost all of the 4Real Learning moms have some goodies to share about their gardens. Click on the Webring in the sidebar and stroll around and be inspired...and then GO OUTSIDE AND GARDEN!