Our Advent Calendar

I'm very happy because this year I did finish the Advent Calendar on time, I reuse the little paper rolls tree I did last year. But this time I manage to sew all the felt ornaments and I sealed on the back too,

I think it looks like a honeycomb.I also includede little notes for family activites such as ºWe will go  to any museum you chose today", and others that just say "I love you" or "I admire you".

 

I use the ornaments as milestones or reminders of family memories. So there is one from the year he started to play piano or take chess lessons, and from birthdays too, like the year we made one themed on fruits or cars.

I hope we will have time to be together.

Mario Bros related crafts

 I do not care about for video games, not even nostalgia ones. I didn't like them when I was a teenager, and I like them even less as a mom.

But when my friend V called me asking ideas for his boyfriend birthday gifts I made a quick search and sent her some links, within a few hours she was so excited that asked me for lessons, so she could make all that she intend and could also learn how to use the sewing machine.
 

I accepted and we spent two days working on it, a bookmark, a cushion and a god strap, I mus say that it all came very nicely, and even I got excited and decided to use the the eraser stamps that I had engrave to make a tote to put all the gifts together.

This is the result.

XXXIV International Fair of Children's Books in Mexico City

Affiliate links within to the English version o the books when available.

We visited the fair with a larger budget than last year and it was such a pleasure, we love books.


I made my son notice that the fair has the same age as me, and he told me that it was created on the year I was born for me, since I'm the queen of books, this made me smile.

I felt very proud that the one book my son chose was The Usborne Enciclopedia of world History, not only for his interest in History, wich I think is pretty cool, but because he actually can read it. I have to admit that when the third grade curriculum arrived, I totally freak out. the content was to advance for him, English is his second language. I figure that it was just an obstacle to tackle, but still. And we started little by little, and suddenly he leap a mile on his understanding of English, it's so funny how mothering always give you the same lesson, over and over, and we fail to learn it. Progress will occur in its time, there is not point on rush it or get stress, you just have to enjoy live and keep up. So, you understand that when I saw him fascinated by this book (we spend a good 20 minutes on this stand) and reading it, I understood I had to make the effort to purchase it, even it is pricey.

I also got some discounted books, a few that my son loved even when he didn't ask for them, and some other I thought I could use in my baby classes, I want to start some Story Time in English here in Mexico City next year, and some Reading Promoting Sessions too, next year.

Some came in packs, and I also got a puzzle. I'm hoping to make individual post on each book later.

I got these in a pack for $1.5, but you can find them in English following the links; How to Hide a Parakeet & Other Birds, How to Hide a Meadow Frog and Other Amphibians (Reading Railroad), How to Hide an Octopus and Other Sea Creatures (Reading Railroad), How to Hide a Butterfly and Other Insects (Reading Railroad Books), How to Hide a Crocodile and Other Reptiles (Reading Railroad),How to Hide a Polar Bear and Other Mammals (Grosset & Dunlap All Aboard Book). 

These came together too, I think they were funny, also great price, $1.5.

This is very beautiful, has not text, good for babies and in plasticized paper easy to clean.

 

This one  is very good for learning some basic Spanish words, love the illustrations.

I'm not. I will ever print photos the old way with my son, as I did when I was a teenager, but still is interesting  to know how it was done.

This one is one of those books without text that are great for young children to understand story structure. It is about a fox who stills a hen. All the friends of the hen are running across the land trying to catch him, but when they finally do, the hen and fox reveal they are in love, it is very very cute, I recommend it a lot.

This has a CD with music and illustrated traditional rhymes form Latin America, really good.

This one has very nicely sounded poems that I expect to use with my babies and kids to teach them rhythm.

It's so bad that this one does not seams to be available on English, it's very nice. A boy lives in a island with all his dog friends and one decides to give them names, as he chooses animal names for them, they transform in parrots, frogs and more, beautifully illustrated.

This collection of board books offers very rhythmical simple ideas,  Violín.

Another book without word, this one full of details on the illustrations that are a delight to observe. It's about a picnic, but when they arrived to the place, someone has steeled the cakes.

Very, very simple book without word with this idea Before, after, most of it related to nature, beautiful illustrations, and great to develop the concept of story structure, time and relations between objects or circumstances for little children.

A simple 40 cents puzzle, just because puzzles are so much fun.

 And of course, the beloved Encyclopedia.

If you live in Mexico city, you are still on time of visiting the FILIJ today, Sunday, November the 17th., there are a lot of cultural activities, such as baby reading rooms, concerts, workshops and of course, lots of books.