Tag: Better World

Bee Books

Posted on by keepinthesunlightblog@gmail.com

 

Being a Bee (2017)
by Jinny Johnson and Lucy Davey

This beautiful children’s book gives information about bees on each page.  Not an overwhelming amount, but definitely educational and interesting.  It has the feel of a picture book, but the added bonus of teaching us more about bees.  There are great tips and resources at the end as well!  Definitely one to check out if you’re interested in studying bees.

The Honeybee
words by Kirsten Hall, illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault (2018)

This is one of my favorite of the bee books we checked out while studying bees.  In this picture book, the author uses catchy, flowing poetry to show readers the journey of a bee’s season.  It’s beautifully told and beautifully illustrated and designed.  The book ends with information and tips for appreciating and protecting bees.  Such an important book for our young ones to read, but also such an enjoyable one.

Beehive (2020)
by Jorey Hurley

This book’s pages are simple, containing just one word per page.  But it is such a gorgeous way to tell the readers about a bee’s journey.  Overly simple books can be very hit or miss, but this one is a definite winner.  The author’s note at the end shares more information about each of the steps shown in the book.  I can’t wait to check out more by Jorey Hurley!

You might also like:
Bees

We Will Not Let Hate Win

Posted on by keepinthesunlightblog@gmail.com

This speech here gives me so much hope.  The reason that prompted it upsets me greatly, but every time I watch this, I swell with pride for the humans among us who stand up for goodness, who use their positions and privileges to help make the world better for others, and who refuse to let hate win.

Thank you, Senator McMorrow.  You are a world-changer, and I am so grateful for your courage, your strength, and your goodness.

Manchin’s Dirty Deal – ACT NOW (Sept 2022)

Posted on by keepinthesunlightblog@gmail.com

Petition

* A message from Bernie Sanders *

As the father of four and the grandfather of seven, I very much wish that I did not have to say this. But the most serious challenge facing our country and the entire world today far and away is the existential threat of climate change.

I recently expressed my strong opposition to the so-called Manchin “side deal” that the fossil fuel industry is pushing through Congress to make it easier for them to pollute the environment and destroy the planet.

For the sake of our children, our grandchildren and future generations, we have got to make it clear to the fossil fuel industry that their short-term profits are not more important than the future of our planet.

Our choice here is clear:

We can listen to the fossil fuel industry and climate deniers who are spending huge amounts of money on lobbying and campaign contributions to pass this dirty side deal.

Or we can listen to the scientists and the environmental community who are telling us loudly and clearly to reject this side deal and eliminate the $15 billion in tax breaks and subsidies Congress is already providing to big oil and gas companies each and every year.

Today, I am urging all of my colleagues to stand with 650 organizations and 59 Members of Congress and reject this dirty side deal.

Please sign my petition to show where you stand:

Add your name to my petition to tell Congress to reject the Manchin dirty side deal that would make it easier for the fossil fuel industry to pollute the environment and destroy the planet.

Petition

Bees

Posted on by keepinthesunlightblog@gmail.com

My daughter recently joined the Girl Scouts as a “Juliette” brownie.  This means, for now, she is scouting as an individual.  I’m quickly realizing what an amazing addition this is to our homeschooling.  At this point, I don’t know how long her scouting journey will last, but she is SO excited about it.  And so am I.  What a perfect program to match her age.  The badges are set up to learn and explore several different topics, and I’m a big believer in young kids not being overly committed to one specific focus too young.  It’s such a wonderful opportunity to be exposed to different interests and areas that I may not have thought to introduce.

She’s decided to start working towards her “bug patch” first, and I can’t believe how she’s taken to it.  She spent a good chunk of time yesterday creating a large poster about butterflies.  I learned a bunch of new facts when she shared it with me.  And while I’m excited to see what other bugs she decides to explore, I took it upon myself to search out some bee resources.

I was amazed at how many bee farms and shops we have in the area and how many bee resources are online for kids.

One of my FAVORITE resources has been Maddie Moate.  This woman amazes me.  She’s fun and energetic and entertaining, and her videos cover just about every topic there is.  But she has some wonderful bee videos.  You need to check them out!

Also, since writing (and forgetting to post) this, we’ve been to our local bee store several times.  (Their honey is AmaZing!)  And while they were very busy the first couple times, we happened to go back on a slow day.  The owner was so great.  She showed the kids around the supplies and did a mini lesson about beekeeping for us.

Bees are an essential part of all our lives, and we need to all be doing more to support them.  Education is the first step, and I’m so very grateful for all the resources out there, so people like me can start to learn more about how we can help.

10 Ways for Kids to Help Bees

One Flower Project

Bee Activity Sheets

More Activity Sheets

Wings of Life (various short videos)

National Geographic Kids (2:03)

World Honeybee Day (3:36)

Great Sunflower Project (1:18)

Picture Books:  Bee Books

Support Your Local Bookstore!

Posted on by keepinthesunlightblog@gmail.com

This is an important one to do year-round, but today (the last Saturday of April) is a day dedicated to independent bookstores.  Independent bookshops are easy to support, and they are almost always super rad.  This is definitely a moment to vote with your wallet for what you want more of in the world.

Since I tend to overthink the environmental impact of all my purchases, I usually don’t buy new books, but when I do it’s a treat, and I look to buy from a great bookshop.  For me, acquiring books usually looks like this:

–Check out a book from the library
–If I LOVe it, I look for a used copy at a local used bookstore or or library book sale or BetterWorldBooks
–If I LOVe it and can’t find a used copy and/or I’d like to support the local bookshops, I buy a book from them (or other item–bookstores have more than just books!)  I try to support the local shops on trips, during Covid shutdowns, occasionally throughout the year, and on Independent-Bookstore-Day.

With the amount of books we have in our house, we’re not in a position to always buy new, nor would my environmentalist-self want to.  But, that doesn’t mean I can’t support local bookshops every now and then.

Don’t have a favorite local bookshop?  Try searching for one in your area first.  If not, think about a shop you’ve enjoyed in another town and see if they’ll ship or if they participate as an affiliate at Bookshop.org (That link is to my online shop.) Any book you purchase on Bookshop will split a percent with participating independent bookstores.  How rad is that?  Keep these magical shops alive!  Where you shop matters.

 

You might also enjoy:
About the Books Here