New York Stories

My blog is not usually this quiet during Advent...the reason for my absence is that I spent a wonderful Thanksgiving with my Mom and family in Indiana, and from there travelled with my husband to New York City!

Christmas in New York by Chuck Fischer

Of course, I had to visit Patience and Fortitude - they looked so festive, with their Christmas wreaths - as well as Winnie the Pooh and Co. at the NYCPL (I'll give you a little tour of this grand library in my next post)!

And there were museums - one day with dinosaurs, and another with art and immigrants. And shows - one with the Rockettes, and another with Barry Gordy. Happily, around every corner it was quite evident that Christmas is Coming.

With Advent marching on, where was I on St. Nicholas Day?
December 6th found me and my husband scurrying around the cold and rainy streets of New York City on our way to St. Nicholas Cathedral in Brooklyn!

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We were in New York to attend a very historic event:  the Enthronement of Metropolitan Joseph (formerly our Bishop) as the new head of the Antiochian Orthodox Church in North America by the Patriarch of Antioch, John X of Damascus.

The newly Enthroned Metropolitan Joseph
with Patriarch John X of Damascus
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And I got to sing in the choir!

photo: Haitham Fakhouri  - source

We had quite a view from the balcony!

It was a beautiful service, full of the reverence and joy one would expect, a day I will never forget.

I'm excited to share all my NY experiences with you - have you ever considered at trip to New York City with kids?  There is so much to do, especially during the holidays.  Go here for information.

You can also look here, on my past post of favorite children's books about The Big Apple, including Kathy Jakobsen's beautiful My New York.  But in the meantime, check out YouTube video of the incredible pop-up book I shared at the beginning of my post - it brings to life some of the wonderful things to see in New York at Christmastime...

Make a Book House Like Maisy's

The other day, a friend of mine showed me the cutest Maisy book she bought for her granddaughter - Maisy's House and Garden.  I can imagine any three to five-year-old would be thrilled with the cute "carousel" style play house book, complete with stickers and attached furniture, by Lucy Cousins...

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Today I'd like to share something I came across last night on Pinterest from Crate Paper Blog - it's a DIY book house like Maisy's!  Amazing! Check it out...

from Crate Paper Blog

source: CP blog 

source: CP blog

I've done several blog posts about the art of paper cutting and paper engineering - including Book Making Ideas for Kids, which featured some "how to" tips and the pop-up art of Robert Sabuda.

TWO INCREDIBLE 3-D "PAPER ENGINEERED" BOOKS:

Louise Rowe

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Robert Sabuda

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Make a pop-up butterfly with Robert Sabuda - go here.

BOOK MAKING IDEAS FOR KIDS...

I was always looking for fun projects that would keep my kids' creative imaginations active during their carefree summer days...

 image by Alta.C from Fotolia.com

JOURNALING: One activity they really enjoyed was making their own books.  Sometimes we'd come home from a memorable outing, such as the circus, or a day trip to a local aquarium, and they'd be inspired to put together a little book about the experience.  Depending on the age and interest of my child, the book would be their dictated or hand-written account of the activity (when they were very young, it was often only one sentence per page with an illustration or photo).  We laminated the pages, and they've lasted for years.  I still treasure them and am sure their own children will enjoy seeing them someday!

Here are some more ideas for homemade books that kids can make...

1. MAKE A POP-UP BOOK:  Visit ROBERT SABUDA'S website for ideas and free downloadable print-outs (projects from simple to advanced). Also - Chinaberry (one of my favorite online sources) has a cute kit you can purchase for creating pop-up books.

2. Write a book of "MY FAVORITE THINGS": Staple together ten blank pages and ask your child to think of that many favorite things. Help with ideas. (i.e. What's your favorite food? Who's your best friend? What's your favorite book? Write one thing on each page and have your child draw a picture or glue a photo cut out from a magazine to go with it.) Do you own a child-friendly camera?  You might find out you have a budding photo-journalist!


3.  Make an ALPHABET BOOK:  On each page, help your child write a letter of the alphabet. For a kinesthetic learner, it works great to cut the letter out of sandpaper, so they can trace it with their finger as they say the letter or sound. You can also glue different materials onto the outline of the letter, such as dried peas, yarn, glitter, etc., to create interesting textures. Then go through and draw or glue pictures of objects that begin with that letter sound on each page.

photo by miscellaneaarts

4. Going on a summer vacation or road trip?  Kids love making TRAVEL JOURNALS.  Start it at home - with a map of where you're going and maybe some fun stickers glued onto the cover of a spiral notebook or sketchpad - then add to it during the trip as you buy postcards and they dictate or write about what they see each day. Leave empty spaces for photos so the kids can finish it when you're back home and have your pictures developed. (Kids grades 3-6 will find inspiration from the book LINNEA IN MONET'S GARDEN, which is like a travel scrapbook).


5. Visit Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord's MAKING BOOKS WITH CHILDREN website, for more creative ideas, including a POEM BOOK, LEAF BOOK and ACCORDION BOOKS.

Not crazy about crafts?  You can always buy this Dr. Seuss book and let your child fill in the blanks...
MY BOOK ABOUT ME, by ME, Myself