• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

A Field Trip Life

Books, places, and books that take you places

  • About
  • Books
    • Evie’s Field Day: More Than One Way to Win
    • Tess & The Waves
    • George The Giraffe Books
    • Raven’s Gift: A Feathered Flight of Faith
    • Nancy Bess Had a Dress
  • Author Visits
    • Invite Claire
    • Events
  • Field Notes
    • Book Reviews by Claire
    • Latest News in Your Inbox
  • Resources
  • Contact

Celebrating May Day

May 1, 2015 Claire Annette Noland 8 Comments

May Day is an old fashioned holiday that isn’t celebrated much. That doesn’t mean we can’t bring it back, though.

Whatever happened to Maypole dances? I did this once when I was five years old. I don’t remember much about kindergarten but I do remember holding onto a beautiful ribbon and going around the pole with the other children.

 

maypole

(illustration by Joan Walsh Anglung – one of my favorite illustrators)

My mother helped us make little May baskets which we filled with flowers from the garden. We hung them on neighbor’s doors, rang the bell, and ran away. Think what a sweet surprise that would be to open the door to a little bouquet.

Here’s aNPR post about this forgotten holiday.

maybasket2_sq-76e31016f44a02f64345beed9f49a7e871422ade-s800-c85

I took a walk this morning and this is what I saw:

Busy Bees – I wonder what blueberry honey tastes like?

may bees

Blackberry-to-be:

may blackberry
Future Kiwi:

 

may kiwi

 

Rosebush gone wild:

may roses

 

Love the striped effect:

may stripe rose

 

Poppy:

may poppy

 

Great color:

may yellow

 

Aren’t pansies sweet?

may pansy

 

I’m so glad the hibiscus bushes have stated to bloom:

may hydrangeas

This vase belonged to my father’s mother. He filled it with roses daily and placed it with the newspaper and a cup of coffee next to my mother in bed. True love!

may pappy

What’s blooming in your neighborhood?

Filed Under: Celebrate, Field Trips Tagged With: May Day

Previous Post: « Z is for Zambia
Next Post: Reflections – 10 Thoughts about the A – Z Blog Challenge »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rosie Amber says

    May 2, 2015 at 11:16 am

    Lovely idea for a post.

    Reply
  2. Joan Schoettler says

    May 2, 2015 at 1:14 pm

    Loved the gift of May flowers in your blog this morning.

    Reply
    • Claire Annette Noland says

      May 4, 2015 at 7:55 pm

      Thanks, Joan. I love the flowers in your garden, too.

      Reply
  3. julz says

    May 2, 2015 at 5:03 pm

    yes, we had maypoles too when I was at school – in UK – not sure where you are, not the UK as I can tell from the lovely flower pictures
    May Day is also a day for union marches etc – not sure if there will be one this year – smile
    fellow A-Z er…….

    Reply
    • Claire Annette Noland says

      May 4, 2015 at 7:54 pm

      Hi – I’m in California and will enjoy the flowers as long as possible. We’re not supposed to water much because of the drought so we’ll see how long they last. I went into downtown Los Angeles on the evening of May 1st and got stuck in a massive traffic jam because there were workers marching. It actually was quite a festive event.

      Reply
  4. Sandy says

    May 3, 2015 at 3:02 pm

    I never did a maypole thing, but it does sound fun. The weather though has changed so much you’d be hard pressed to have enough flowers actually blooming to give to neighbors.

    Reply
    • Claire Annette Noland says

      May 4, 2015 at 7:51 pm

      I’m enjoying the flowers for the bit of time we have them. Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply
  5. Debbie D. says

    May 9, 2015 at 6:11 pm

    Lovely flowers! May Day is a huge holiday in Europe – their “Labour Day”. It’s joyous to know that winter is finally over. 🙂

    Reply

Join the Discussion! Cancel reply

Please submit your comment with a real name.

Thanks for your feedback!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Welcome

Hello. I’m Claire Annette - reader, writer, teacher, and field trip planner extraordinaire. Here at A Field Trip Life you will find ideas for adventures large and small and the kids’ books that inspire them. Sign your permission slip. Let's go!

Connect With Me!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Join the Fun, Subscribe to a Field Trip Life Monthly!

Subscribe

* indicates required

Review Policy

Click Here for Review Policy

Search

Categories

MCBookDay-white-21-300x234



claireannettenolandbooks

Author | teacher | Field Trip Planner
books that take you places
Raven’s Gift
Nancy Bess Had a Dress
Evie’s Field Day
Out and About w George series

Instagram post 18050455565169935 Instagram post 18050455565169935
Today’s the day! I’m the featured author on to Today’s the day! I’m the featured author on today’s Summer of Stories! Take a look and let me know what you think. The link is in my bio.

And then check out all the other great stories!

#summerofstories #floursackdresses #floursack #makedo #picturebookreadaloud 

@angelac.hawkins @gnomeroadpublishing @eringreneaux
I'm excited to share that the Crystal Kite Award v I'm excited to share that the Crystal Kite Award voting continues until July 18th for members of SCBWI. Our book, Nancy Bess Had a Dress, is in the Southwest Division (where illustrator @angelac.hawkins lives)

Members, you can vote for books in all of the regions.
Cast your vote at this link: 

https://www.scbwi.org/crystal-kite/CK8

I will be sharing Nancy Bess July 11th online for the Summer of Stories https://summerofstories.substack.com/

and I'll be doing story time and craft at the Three River Public Library on July 11th at 10:30

@gnomeroadpublishing @pbspree @eringreneaux @tularecountylib 
@scbwicencal #crystalkiteaward
Instagram post 18090291214629192 Instagram post 18090291214629192
We are enjoying a lovely summer’s day with CARL’S SLEEPY AFTERNOON thanks to our friends @laughingelephantbooks who sent us a copy signed by Alexandra Day and Carl!
Happy 40th Anniversary, Carl! You are such a good dog 🐾❤️
Carl has an opportunity to have a quiet and sleepy afternoon but does he rest? Not our Carl!
We’re on our 3rd generation loving this noble good dog and look forward to reading about his adventures for many more years!

#gooddogcarl #picturebookdogs #summerreading @mrernierecommends @christinabeeghly @laurennolandhajik @roxannenoland @gn705
Summer is the best time to beat the heat by taking Summer is the best time to beat the heat by taking your young ones to a museum. And I suggest, before you go, you share the delightful picture book, MousterWorks, written and illustrated by @angelac.hawkins
Young mice, Cosette and Pépin, join Grand-mère on a splendid adventure through a mouse hole into a museum. They gaze at brilliant interpretations of well-known painting by famous artists such as Claude Monet, Mary Cassatt, and Edward Banister. Cosette excitedly engages with the art while her brother, Pépin, searches for cheese in the art and eventually realizes that he can be an artist and paint his favorite things.

The final photo is 2.5 year old Alice at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento. She was captivated by "Home Sweet Home" (after Seurat, Manet, and Pippin) painted by Wangari Mathenge

Art is for all ages.

To read my full review, visit my blog https://afieldtriplife.com/mousterworks-lets-go-to-a-museum/

@gnomeroadpublishing #mousterworks #artmuseumswithkids
@laurennolandhajik
Looking forward to simple unscheduled days! #july Looking forward to simple unscheduled days!
#july #afieldtriplife #summer
Look what we found featured at the library! #nancy Look what we found featured at the library! #nancybesshadadress 
Thank you @tularecountylib 
#summerreading #picturebooks #librarylove 
@angelac.hawkins @gnomeroadpublishing
Happy Summer! At the top of our summer "to do" lis Happy Summer! At the top of our summer "to do" list is visiting libraries where I love to see staff recommendations. SUMMER: A Solstice Story written by @kelseyegross and illustrated by @renataliwska is such a lovely picture book.
Owl, Squirrel, Raccoon, Bear, Sparrow, Rabbit, Woodpecker, and Deer gather to celebrate the arrival of summer with its gifts of light and new life. The friends share sprouts, fresh water, flowers, and fruit each accompanied by special wishes for the little ones to shine, glow, shimmer, gleam, and blaze bright with solstice light. They spend the day with festivities as they dance, splash, hop, and savor a forest feast.
I shared this with a group of children the night before the Solstice so that they understood how special this date is. Then, we read it again as the sun set on the longest day of the year after partaking of many of the same activities done by the woodland animals. They really enjoyed the center pages that fold out.
This is a soft, gentle, and breathtakingly beautiful picture book that should be enjoyed all summer long. @pbspree #summersolstice #summerasolsticestory
We have been Good Dog Carl fans for almost 4 decad We have been Good Dog Carl fans for almost 4 decades so we are excited to celebrate 40 years of our favorite picture book series! I love the book mom and Carl’s adventures are the best!
So let’s raise a toast to Carl, the very good dog, and to  @laughingelephantbooks Here’s to many more wonderful years of ❤️ filled stories.
#wewon #gooddogcarl #afieldtriplife #picturebookdogs @laurennolandhajik @christinabeeghly @roxannenoland
Military families are made up of heroes, those who Military families are made up of heroes, those who leave home to serve and those who stay behind. It isn’t easy to find books featuring military families, so I was excited to discover when AS MUCH as the STARS: A Story of Love Across the. Miles – A Child’s Goodbye/ AS MUCH AS THE STARS: A Story of love across The Miles: A Mother’s Farewell. I love flip books because they are clever and provide a fun way to read two stories told from different perspectives. AS MUCH AS THE STARS does an exceptional job of showing the love and emotions surrounding a deployment and then a joyous return. In this authentic, well-written story, one half follows a young girl and her relationship with her military father. The other half features the viewpoint of that girl, now grown, whose son leaves home to serve. warm and colorful illustrations add to the text showing the love that is shared even when they are separated by great distances.
This is a wonderful book for all families and will help everyone understand the sacrifices that our brave service members make. I just wish this book had been available when I was teaching children in military families.
Written by Forrest Zenone, Skyler Zenone, and Tricia Stone-Shumaker
Illustrations by Penny Weber
@poppysadventures1 @pennyweberart @laurennolandhajik #militaryfamilies #asmuchasthestars
#mrernierecommends
FYI… sweet peas are blooming on Old Creek Road a FYI… sweet peas are blooming on Old Creek Road around Whale Rock Reservoir
The story of how they got there reminds me of Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney “You must do something to make the world more beautiful.” 
Read how these delicate blossoms came to grace the highways in San Luis Obispo County: https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/johnny-appleseed-sweet-peas-planted-120000196.html

Lupine, poppies, and wild mustard are also blooming.

#sweetpeas #jackcreekfarms #roadtrip #afieldtriplife #missrumphius
Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2025 | A Field Trip Life | Claire Annette Noland | All Rights Reserved