I am still a blogger-in-training. It takes me a long time to upload pictures and add a post.
One of the best blog incentives was the a-z blog challenge that I joined this past April. Bloggers were encouraged to post daily on a theme following the alphabet. This exercise helped me to think of topics and to learn how to post. In addition, we were encouraged to look at blogs written by other bloggers involved in the challenge.
One of the bloggers I discovered was Tina Downey who had a wonderful blog called Life is Good. Unfortunately, news came through the blogosphere that Tina passed away. Her favorite flowers were sunflowers and bloggers honored her by posting sunflowers on their own blogs with the tag – #Life is Good.
Who doesn’t love sunflowers? How can such a giant flower come from a small seed? Just looking at sunflowers makes me smile.
Kids love sunflowers and I have collected quite a few sunflower books. Every year about this time, we read the books and do lots of art, math and science activities.
Sunflower House by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt tells the story of a boy who plants sunflower seeds in a circle. The seeds grow to the sky and eventually form a playhouse. We read this book and were inspired to grow a sunflower house. The kids spent days in the house. Our sunflower house also had lots of bird, lizard and insect visitors.
This is the Sunflower by Lola M. Schaefer and illustrated by Donald Crews is a bright and cheerful book which introduces the life cycle of a sunflower to young children. It is written in a cumulative pattern which children like to chime along with during story time. This is a fun book to share.
A Field of Sunflowers by Neil Johnson is a photographic tribute to the beauty of the sunflower. In this easy-to-read book, a farmer prepares the soil and plants a field full of sunflower seeds. The seeds grow and the farmer invites the neighbors to come and see the flowers. Families have picnics and artists set up their easels to paint the flowers.
Sunflower Sal by Janet S. Anderson and illustrated by Elizabeth Johns follows Sal, a strong and large farm girl who wants to quilt like her grandmother but is too clumsy. Her family encourages Sal to develop her own special talents. Sal wonders what to do when she sees sunflowers growing behind the barn. She collects the seeds and plants them. When the family goes up the hill for a picnic, they see that Sal has made a living quilt because there are sunflowers outlining the fields below. Not only does this book celebrate sunflowers but it encourages children to pursue their own special gifts.
My daughter, Christina Mee has loved sunflowers since she was young. She even used them as the centerpiece of her wedding:
The sunflower that Christina Mee grew.
A beautiful bride!
Do sunflowers make you smile?
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