Photo Albums

 I have a photo album at home that I started when my first grandchild was born in 2006. Each year, I add pictures of our Christmas celebration to this album. It is really the only "hard copy" album that I keep up with.

I spent a few minutes over the holidays, showing my FOUR grandkids the pictures in this album. While showing it to them, I realized that a hard copy photo album is very foreign to them. 

That sent me down memory lane and I pulled out all my old (dusty) photo albums and spent some time looking through them. I realized that we didn't take that many pictures back then, mostly on special occasions or vacations. I have a very limited amount of pictures of my kids during their early years. 

These days most of us have thousands of pictures on our devices. And I do love being able to go down memory lane on my phone. But there is just something about flipping through an old photo album!

One of my 2024 goals for Books By The Bushel is to add and update our Facebook photo albums. We have come a long way from the garage in Calhoun, GA, where I started this company. 

I am looking forward to posting our company memories! Stay tuned :)

2023 Year In Review

I thought it might be fun to post some of our favorite pictures from 2023!

January 2023: We purchased a shipping crate to transport our product to conferences. My mom (former art teacher) personalized it for us!

March 2023: We celebrated Dr. Seuss's Birthday and Pi Day!

April 2023: Pallets, Boxes, and an OAEYC conference!

                                                                                                                                                

July 2023: Some Fun In The Sun....and, of course, shipping books!

August 2023: We bought new conference T-shirts (the giraffe shirt was our favorite!)

September 2023: We packed our shipping crate and shipped it to New Orleans for the 2023 Parents As Teachers Conference!

October 2023: Molly continued to break the in-house record for the number of sole-source sets built in a day! She is a ninja!

And, we introduced our "forced perspective" photo booth at the Parents As Teachers conference in New Orleans :)

November 2023: Ana became our shipping coordinator and quickly learned how to navigate our aisles with her WAV!

December 2023: was filled with holiday fun!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! 

We look forward to working with each of you in 2024!

The season of giving!

 I've mentioned in the past that Books By The Bushel is located in a small village in southeastern Ohio.

We are a very tight-knit community, and I am always proud to see our community rally around those in need.

Each year, our local food pantry reaches out to local businesses to ask that they "Adopt-A-Family", during the holiday season. As a children's book company, we LOVE this idea. 

This year was our fourth year participating. 

I could NOT be more proud of my team and their enthusiastic participation in showing love to our adopted family!

Giving truly is the reason for the season!

Happy Holidays from us to you!

FREE Ideas By The Bushel

 In just a few days, we will welcome the winter season.

For many of us, it has already felt like winter for a few weeks now. 

Personally, I am not a fan of winter weather. Growing up west of Chicago, we always had a TON of snow. And if they were forecasting a snowstorm, I was always excited for a snow day. Unfortunately, my bus driver's one mission in life was to get "her" kids to school no matter how much snow we had! And she was true to her mission...except for one time when we ended up in a ditch. Hours later, when we were finally dug out,  it was too late to take us to school, so she drove us all home! Best day of my little life at the time :)

That being said, even as an adult, there is still some excitement when the weather person is calling for a big snow event, although living in southern Ohio we don't see many of them. We mostly get ice :(

When we do get a big snow, it's always fun to snuggle in with some hot chocolate and stay home for the day!

Do you have a favorite winter activity? If you're looking for ideas to keep you and the kiddos busy during the dark evenings of winter, be sure to visit our website for FREE downloadable winter activities!

Garifuna

 To continue my theme of Belize, I have had the pleasure of getting to know the Garifuna culture on our travels each year.

We visited Belize right before their annual Garifuna Settlement Day celebration, which is held on November 19th of each year.

This year, we had the pleasure of watching a traditional Garifuna dance. 

These dances include stories of the history of the Garifuna settlement and other rich stories of their past.

To add to the experience, I spent an afternoon learning how to cook a traditional Belizian breakfast food called "Fry Jacks."  Miss Jude, the chef, has become one of my dearest friends in Belize. She is a full-blooded Garifuna and can trace her ancestors back to some of the first settlers in Belize.

At Books By The Bushel, we sell many books that teach about cultures worldwide. For me, I must immerse myself in the local culture wherever I go (even here in the US, where we have so many different traditions and cultures!).

Sea Turtles

 Anyone who knows me knows that I love all things ocean. Each year, Mike and I take a trip to Belize.

 Are you wondering where Belize is located? So were we when someone first told us that the snorkeling in Belize was the best in the world! We looked it up, and Belize is nestled between Mexico to the North, Guatemala to the West, and Honduras to the South...with nothing but the Caribbean Sea to the East!

Top on our priority list each year is to snorkel the barrier reef off the coast of Belize. We stay on an island situated on Glover's Atoll, just a short boat ride from the Glover's Reef Research Station. To give you an idea of how remote this area is, twice daily the power goes out on the entire island, as they switch to the second generator!

This reef is the second-largest reef in the world and includes The Great Blue Hole. This year, we snorkeled the Great Blue Hole, and it did not disappoint. 

One of the items on my bucket list that I had not been lucky enough to experience on previous visits, was the hatching of loggerhead turtles. Each year, when we go, we are either too early or too late to see them hatch. While there were roped-off nests on the beach again this year, it appeared we would miss the hatching by a couple of weeks. And then it happened....we were in our cabana when the phone rang and it was one of the island staff yelling that there was a hatching taking place RIGHT NOW! I don't think I have ran that fast in 10 years!

Once at the ocean's edge, we saw dozens of baby turtles making their way to the sea. That they instinctively know what to do is simply amazing! That such a tiny creature makes it to the ocean is a miracle. Overhead, we saw birds circling and just waiting for the opportunity to swoop down for a meal of baby loggerhead. Of course, none of the humans watching would let that happen!

Because the loggerhead is considered endangered in Belize, each baby turtle is counted and recorded by the Glover's Reef Research Team. 

The staff dug deep into the sand, pulling out egg shells to ensure all the babies were safely hatched and counted. 

Visiting this remote area of Belize has given me a profound respect for the work our conservationists have ahead of them. I encourage you to visit each of the links in my blog and learn more about this beautiful country and what they are doing to preserve and protect not only their country but the world!

Conference Fun!

 Each year, we attend the Parents As Teachers National Conference. 

Our conference team looks forward to this conference each year, and there are a few key things we strive for during these annual conferences. 

Connections!

We always look forward to reconnecting with our current partners, while meeting new ones!

Having Fun!

We love to add a few fun elements to our booth! This year, we added a PLINKO game and a forced perspective photo "booth". 

Hosting!

We again welcomed an award-winning children's author. 

Daniel W. Vendever for a meet-and-greet autograph session.

We can't wait to see everyone again in 2024!

Books By The Bushel is located in a small village in Ohio, and to say we are limited in our food choices would be a big understatement. So, when Mi Casa Mexican Grill opened here in town, it was MAJOR news!

I absolutely LOVE Mexican cuisine, so I used the opening of this restaurant as an excuse to take each of my team members to lunch over the past 6 weeks! 

I haven't done this type of thing since before COVID, and I had forgotten how valuable it is to have one-on-one time with your team. 

While we spent a few minutes discussing business, we mostly talked about our lives (the important things!). I cannot put into words how valuable it was for me to just sit down and chat with each of them. It allowed us to connect outside of work in a relaxed environment.

We finished this marathon lunch schedule with a catered taco lunch yesterday on National Taco Day (Wednesday, October 4, 2023). And Mi Casa Mexican Grill did not disappoint!

PS: In case you can't see it in the picture, we are holding a BUCKET of chips and a gallon of salsa that came as part of our taco lunch!

From Seed to Pumpkin

While I am not a huge fan of the cooler weather (give me 85 degrees all year around, please!), I do love the fall colors!

Along with all the beautiful fall colors come pumpkins!

 

As a child, I lived by an apple orchard; each fall, they had THE BEST pumpkins to choose from. My sisters and I would walk through the vines debating which pumpkin would be perfect to carve! At the time, I didn't know there were many different varieties of pumpkins!

In spring 2022, we planted cooking pumpkins and Jack-O-Lanterns here at Books By The Bushel.

We documented and posted pictures and information on our website as they grew.

Last fall, we carved our Jack-o-lantern pumpkin and canned our cooking pumpkins. Yum!

And a few of our feathered friends enjoyed a yummy pumpkin meal!

Visit our website to follow the journey From Seed To Pumpkin! 

And be sure to check out our FREE downloadable activities!

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with an Award-Winning Children's Book!

 Our buying team spends countless hours pouring over the latest in children's books. Some of the characteristics they look for in a book are:

• Award Winning books
• Relatable characters
• Developmentally Appropriate
• Important and teachable lessons

This month (September 15 to October 15), we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with an award-winning Children's Book.

GREEN IS A CHILE PEPPER

Green is a chili pepper, spicy and hot. Green is cilantro inside our pot.

In this award-winning book*, children discover a rainbow of colors in the world around them. Many of the featured objects are Hispanic in origin, but all are universal in appeal.

This colorful book checks all our buying team's boxes with rich, exuberant illustrations, a fun-to-read rhyming text, and an informative glossary! 

We think you will love it too!

*An International Latino Book Awards Finalist, A Pura Belpre Illustrator Honor Book, An ALSC Notable Children's Book, A New York Public Library Title for Reading and Sharing, A Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature Best Multicultural Book of the Year!

Tad the Tadpole Project 2022

 

Books by the Bushel has added a new section to our website called "Interactive Literacy Activities" to encourage a learning experience along with some of our great titles. Our latest addition to the butterflies is "Tad," the tadpole. Originally BBTB had purchased two tadpoles, and over a couple weeks, we learned that one was not going to progress the way the other tadpole was. And then there was only Tad. 

The BBTB tadpole project was underway as we patiently waited for something called metamorphosis to take place. Originally, Tad would have started as a tiny clear jelly-like egg. Found floating in ponds or rivers. This would have been stage one of the life of a tadpole.

Next, the tadpole grows into more of a fish with gills and a tail. Tad will hatch and swim along the pond edge, looking for algae and plants to eat. Making this stage two of the life of a tadpole.

Within three weeks of having Tad, the tadpole had grown in length and started to take shape more of a frog with a tail. Still no sign of legs. Research said that Tad would develop the back legs first. This would be the first sign that Tad was becoming a "froglet." Once Tad has grown back legs, it can leap around instead of just swimming. Tad will also grow lungs and prepare to breathe outside of the water.

The BBTB team had upgraded Tad's habitat to a larger tank with a bubbler. Added a faux rock and branch for Tad to climb up on when the time was needed to take a break and breathe. Tad really enjoys the bubbler! We watch Tad swim up to the bubbler and let it twist and twirl his body around. 

The Time Had Come, And Tad Has Legs!

The day had come that Tad had finally grown a start of a leg! Every day for several weeks, the BBTB team would check on Tad and observe for physical changes. What seemed like forever. One day a team member noticed Tad starting to grow a clear camouflage leg. It was small and tough to see. According to research, Tad was between 6 and 9 weeks old and officially was in the metamorphosis stage. Over the next 4 to 6 weeks, we will observe Tad becoming more like a frog. Stay tuned!

 BBTB Painted Lady Butterfly Project

What a great experience we had here at the Books by the Bushel. Looking at the previous years with how Covid had affected things in many businesses. Most had foreseen ramping up their online and social media activity, bringing their customers into what is happening more behind the scenes. We had, and still currently, brainstormed for ways to interact with our beloved customers. This is what brought us to growing the Painted Lady's project. It was an exciting team-building project as well. Once the kit was ordered through amazon, our team anxiously waited to see them arrive in the mail. Finally, the day had come, and curiosity was in full motion.

Arrival Day

We each submitted a name we felt would fit our project. Considering we only purchased five caterpillars and we have eleven team members. We had to do a hat draw. The names chosen were Crunchy, Felicia, Fitzwilliam, Poppy, and Simon. Our team set up their habitat, and we were ready to start observing. We paired up this project with our book, The Life Cycle of Butterflies, written by Judy Burris and Wayne Richards

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At first, the caterpillars had to be observed from the jar they arrived in. They were about an inch in length and dark-colored with fuzzy hairs on their back. Nothing too distinctive about them yet. We noticed they would be particularly active in the morning and slow down throughout the day. Eat and sleep is what several of us would say they did. 

The interest grew immensely over the next couple of days as the caterpillars started to hang from the jar's lid. Curling into a "j" like figure and no longer moving about among the food. Periodically our team members would come in throughout the day to observe if any changes had occurred. Until one morning, we came in from the weekend to be very surprised. All of the caterpillars had morphed into the chrysalis stage. Four had made a secure webbing to hold onto the lid, and one had taken stage within the bottom of the jar among the food. The appearance of a gray-like shell with tiny gold specks now covered the "j" shaped caterpillar.

We had read that waiting an excellent solid three days would ensure the chrysalides were safe to move to the next part of the habitat. Removing the lid and placing them upright in a base provided. We needed to clear any extra webbing away from the chrysalides to prevent wing tangling once they were ready to emerge. Which was said to be in seven to ten days.

Now we wait.

Our team continuously checked on them throughout the week. Occasionally the chrysalides would shake and wiggle to "warn off danger" if we observed them too close. It was funny and fascinating to watch how this life process works. Imagine being out in nature and having no way to warn off your predators other than wiggling. Some say the chrysalides look like jewelry pieces from the gold sparkle specks. What if we were in ancient times and had no idea that this chrysalis was a living creature? What a surprise you would have once it broke free! 

Oh no!

A few days had passed, and to our excitement, Friday was a new stage for one of our chrysalides. A butterfly had emerged and was resting on the side of the lid. We noticed it was the darker one of the five. We had missed it! That morning we knew it was still in chrysalis form, and within a matter of minutes, we had a butterfly. We mixed up the "nectar" of sugar and water and soaked the sponge in the flower dish so that the butterfly would have it when ready. The other four were still holding strong and didn't show any signs of wanting to change, so we left the office for the weekend. Only to return Monday and find that the other four had made their appearance, and five butterflies were latched to the sides of the habitat. Sadly, we had missed all the transformations. But it was fantastic to see all the butterflies doing well in their netted habitat. Our team decided they should have a couple of days to dry out their wings and eat before releasing them. 

Releasing Day

Even though not all went as we had hoped for, the Books by the Bushel team really enjoyed this project. On our final day with our butterflies, we gathered outside and watched them fly off to find their new habitat in someone's garden. 

I imagine and hope they will bring someone else joy where there is a garden full of Hollyhocks, Verbena, and Coneflowers. So next time you are out and about and spot a Painted Lady butterfly, it could be one of our own Books by the Bushel's friends Crunchy, Felicia, Fitzwilliam, Poppy, or Simon.