About viviankirkfield

Writer for children - Reader forever - Mom of 3, educator, author of FOUR OTTERS TOBOGGAN: AN ANIMAL COUNTING BOOK (PomegranateKids, PIPPA'S PASSOVER PLATE (Holiday House), SWEET DREAMS, SARAH (Creston Books); MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD: THE INSPIRING FRIENDSHIP OF ELLA FITZGERALD AND MARILYN MONROE (Little Bee Books); FROM HERE TO THERE: INVENTIONS THAT CHANGED THE WAY THE WORLD MOVES (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Jan 19, 2021); PEDAL, BALANCE, STEER: Annie Londonderry, First Woman to Bike Around the World (Calkins Creek/Astra, Feb 20, 2024) picture book junkie, lover of travel, hiking, fly-fishing, cooking, and playing Monopoly with my grandson.

Simple Crafts for Summer Fun: To-Do Tuesdays

Posted on May 17, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Image via Wikipedia

Do ducks like the water?

Does the sun rise in the east?

Do kids love crafting?

The answer to all of these questions is YES!

Here’s a simple craft activity from Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking. It requires only 5 things…I’m sure you have all five in your home already. Your child will love making this puzzle and will enjoy putting it together and taking it apart…great pre-reading skills!

MAKE A PUZZLE

You will need: A picture (from an old magazine for example), a piece of heavy weight construction paper approximately the same size as the picture your child has chosen (or one side of a cereal box), a pair of safety scissors, paste or a glue stick and an envelope in which to store the pieces.

1. Let your child choose a picture from an old magazine.

2. Paste the picture onto the construction paper or cardboard.

3. Cut the mounted picture in pieces. Depending on the age of your child, this could be a two or three or more piece puzzle.

4. Help your child put the pieces together to form the picture.

5. Store the pieces in an envelope.

I’ll be doing a similar craft in downtown Colorado Springs on June 11^that the PBS Kids Fun Fest in Acacia Park from 10am to 2pm. There will be all kinds of entertainment and many tables of craft activities for children. If you are local, this is a MUST-GO-TO event…lots of fresh ideas for parents and teachers!

KTSC-KFF- Color Flier

Please stop by tomorrow for What’s In Your Child’s Bookcase for a great picture book suggestion for summer reading. And don’t forget to visit my website to take advantage of the Jump Into Summer Half-off Sale.

Wrap It Up For Easy Summer Dining: Make-A-Meal Monday

Posted on May 17, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Image via Wikipedia

Want a delicious lunch or dinner idea that’s easy to make and fun to eat?

Fill a whole wheat tortilla wrap!

Use shrimp, tuna or chicken salad and add lettuce, tomato, sprouts, mashed avocado to increase the nutritional benefits.

Do you have creative ideas for filling the tortilla wrap?

You can pair the wrap with corn on the cob or oven fries and your family will think that summer is already here.

Young children love to participate in the kitchen. Why not invite them to mix the salad ingredients and sprinkle on the sprouts? Talk about which foods grow and which foods come from animal sources. While you take care of the corn or oven fries, your children can be creating colorful placemats using construction paper and crayons.

Looking for more healthy child-friendly cooking activities to keep your little ones happy and busy this summer. Check out my book, now on sale for 50% off the cover price. Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking is an Indie Excellence Awards Finalist and provides hundreds of easy fun-filled educational craft and cooking activities for young children.

What are your plans for this summer? If you stop by tomorrow, I’ll have a craft idea that your children will love that is educational and fun to do.

Gossip Can Be Dangerous: Cinema Sundays: My Picks of Great Flicks

Posted on May 15, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Image by plenty.r. via Flickr

Do you remember playing the “telephone game” in school when you were younger?

All the children would line up and then the first child whispered something into the next child’s ear…she turned to the next child and whispered what you had said (or what she thought you said). That child whispered into the ear of the next child…and so on down the line. The last child in line then spoke out loud exactly what had been whispered to her.

We would all laugh hysterically, because what was said out loud was never what the original person had whispered.

Gossip is no laughing matter, however. Rumors spread like wildfire and can be just as damaging. And today, with the internet, I know it is even more important to teach our children how harmful it can be.

Yesterday, my husband and I watched one of the old Andy Griffith shows, Those Gossipin’ Men. Sheriff Andy makes fun of Aunt Bee because he believes that the women are always gossiping. However, when a traveling shoe salesman from New York City comes to Mayberry, we discover that it is not only the women who like to spread rumors. The men believe that the shoe salesman is really a talent scout or TV producer from New York and they fall over each other to buy shoes from him so that they can audition for him. Of course, no one is harmed and the townspeople will all have new shoes, but we see how easy it is for people to make up stories…and even easier for everyone to believe them.

What can we do to protect our young children and teach them not to start rumors?

Talk to them about being kind to others.
Play the “telephone game” to show them that not everything they hear from others is true.
Be a good role model when it comes to gossiping and spreading rumors.

There is a new review of SHOW ME HOW! at http://www.themomwrites.com

With summer coming, I know many parents will be looking for activities to keep young children busy and happy…why not get a copy of SHOW ME HOW! now on sale for 50% off the cover price! Visit my website, pick up a copy and

START HAVING FUN!

Please come back again tomorrow for Make-A-Meal Monday…another great child-friendly healthful recipe.