Sunday Post: Culture…What Do Children Really Need?

Posted on by
40

Today is Easter Sunday.  It is also the second day of Passover.   Just as with Christmas and Hanukah, these Christian and Jewish holidays are usually celebrated around the same time.  It’s not by chance, of course. 

If you trace most major religious holidays back to their beginnings, you will find they have the same roots and seem to be based on pagan festivals that were held thousands of years before.

Jake at Time after Time has a Sunday Post Challenge and every week he provides a theme…this week’s theme is CULTURE.

The word ‘culture’ has many definitions.  Because of the holidays that are upon us, I’ll use this one: the set of shared attitudes, beliefs, customs, practices and social behaviors of a particular nation or group.

And it seems that no matter what the holiday or which religious or ethnic group is celebrating…presents are involved, especially for the children.  Easter baskets filled with candy and stuffed animals, Christmas trees surrounded with gaily wrapped gifts, eight days of presents during Hanukah, gifts given as ransom for returning the afikomen (piece of matzoh) during Passover get-togethers. 

 

Children love presents…but the most important gift we can give them is our time and attention.  This is another similarity that is cross-cultural.  Children need to be treasured no matter whether their parents are Christian or Jewish, Muslim or Hindu, American or French, Canadian or Spanish, rich or poor, highly educated or unable to read. artistic or sports-minded.  If we look at cultures all over the world, we see that this is true…in most societies, parents, and often the entire community, strive to cherish the children.  Of course, in war-ravaged areas or when epidemics of famine rage, it is often the children who suffer the most.

If we want to be in our children’s memories tomorrow, we need to be in their lives today.  Read with your child.  Talk with your child.  Walk with your child.  Play with your child.  Cook with your child.  Paint with your child.  The bond you form now will last a lifetime.

Today is also the first day of National Library Week.  Why not go to your local library with your child this week.  Help your child pick out some books and read at least one every day. Studies show that children who are read to on a daily basis are more likely to succeed in school. 

 

Don’t forget to nominate your favorite library in the comment section!  Twenty-five libraries across the US and around the world can receive a free copy of Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking.  Nominations close the last day of the month…don’t let your library lose out on the chance of getting this award-winning resource for parents and teachers.

 

If you’d like more information about Jake’s Sunday Post:

 http://jakesprinters.wordpress.com/ 

And here are some other bloggers who are doing Jake’s Sunday Post:

http://imagesoftheheart.wordpress.com/2012/04/08/sunday-post-culture/

http://wp.me/p2iujW-2J


 

 

I will try to add more as they are posted.

Related articles

PPBF: The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes

Posted on by
37

 

 

Today is Perfect Picture Book Friday where I link up with Susanna Leonard Hill’s fantastic group of picture book writers, illustrators, librarians and others who contribute a picture book review and related resources for parents, teachers and children. 

Some picture book points to remember:

  •        Having picture books available for young children to look at and listen to is almost as important as having air to breathe and food to eat. 
  •         Set up a bookshelf for your child’s collection. 
  •         Books can be expensive…check out used book stores and consignment shops for discounted picture books. 
  •         The library is an amazing resource for children’s books.  You can speak to the librarian about recommendations and story programs.
  •         Read to your child every day.

This last reminder reminds me that we need to announce the WINNER of the March Positive Parental Participation Reading Challenge.  Marcy, over at Orples, is a hands-on grandmother.  We’ve connected through Jake’s Sunday Posts and she often writes about the activities she and her grandchildren do together.  I know she will enjoy sharing a new picture book with them.  Congratulations, Marcy!

 

National Library Week is April 8-14.  To help celebrate, visit the library with your children at least one day next week if you can…and make it a habit to go often.  Does your child have a library card yet?  Find out how old your child has to be…if he doesn’t have one yet and is old enough, help celebrate National Library Week by signing him up. 

A child’s library card is a passport for learning about the world.

Do you want your library to win one of the 25 copies of Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking (MoneyPenny Press, Ltd. 2010)?

 

Many libraries are very limited in what new materials they can buy for their collections because of reduced revenues.  Another way to celebrate National Library Week is to nominate your library to win a copy of this great parent/child activity book?  It’s easy!  If you haven’t done it already, just leave a comment on this post, naming the library and telling why the people in your community would benefit from having the book available to them.  At the end of the month, twenty-five libraries will be chosen through Random.org and the people who did the nominating will get to present the book to their local library. 

Do you tweet on Twitter?  Are you a fan of Facebook?  Have you pinned anything on Pinterest yet?  Please help me spread the word by tweeting, posting and/or pinning about the Show-Me-How Library Project.

Thank you, thank you, thank you…and now…are you still there…here is a really special picture book, just in time for Easter.

 

The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes

Written by Dubose Heyward

Illustrated by Marjorie Flack

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (1939)

Ages: 4 and up

Themes: Mastering tasks and skills, goal-setting, holidays (Easter), overcoming gender discrimination, family, working together.

Opening Line:

“We hear of the Easter Bunny who comes each Easter Day before sunrise to bring eggs for boys and girls, so we think there is only one.  But this is not so.”

Synopsis:

A young country bunny sets a goal for herself of becoming one of the five Easter bunnies who deliver Easter eggs all over the world.  It seems her dreams will not be realized as the little bunny grows up and becomes the mother of twenty-one baby bunnies.  Using ingenuity, common sense and lots of determination, she trains each of her children to master certain skills. 

Will Little Cottontail Mother prove that she is the kindest, wisest and fastest bunny in the whole world?  Can she complete all of her tasks?  Does she win the golden shoes that will enable her to fly?  Read this charming story to find out!

Why I like this book:

This book was written over seventy years ago…yes, you know how I love these old classic picture books…and is still relevant today!  This is a very modern feminist tale…twenty-nine children and she still has a dream that she realizes…overcoming gender discrimination and economic hardships.

Little Cottontail Mother is a loving and caring mom…but that doesn’t stop her from expecting her children to be responsible and helpful and courteous.  She teaches them the life skills they will need as adults. 

The illustrations are from the ‘illustrious’ Marjorie Flack…need I say more! 

Related Activities

HANDPRINT EASTER BASKETS

I’ve made this craft with kindergarten classes…they really love it!  This is a lovely keepsake because it is made from your child’s handprints.  Hang on the refrigerator or use as an Easter door decoration.  The picture here is from Artists Helping Children.org  They have lots of great ideas and instructions on their website.

You will need: Construction paper, tape, glue stick, crayons or markers, scissors

1.      Trace at least 8 hands for each basket (these are the handle).

2.      Cut out a basket shape and cut a slit in the top (the eggs will slip in here).

3.      Lay out the handprints, overlapping slightly, to form a handle shape.  Tape them while you are arranging them and then glue in place.

4.      Cut out a bunch of Easter egg shapes.  Your child can decorate them before sliding them into the slit.  Glue in place when they are in the right place.

Gail Terp has an awesome blog post with craft ideas and more here.

Anita Silvey’s Children’s Book-A-Day Almanac did a lovely in-depth review here

Book Reviews for Kids did one here.

Talk with your children about the tasks that Little Cottontail Mother taught her bunnies.  What tasks can your child help with at home?

Make a goal chart…Little Cottontail Mother had things she wanted to accomplish…help your child make a chart of tasks and skills he or she wants to master.

This post is part of a series for parents and teachers called Perfect Picture Book Fridays hosted by Susanna Leonard Hill.  Click on her link and find lots of other picture book suggestions with summaries and activities. 

And please, don’t forget to leave a comment, nominating your local library to be the recipient of a copy of Show Me How!

Related articles

A PICTURE BOOK IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS

Posted on by
7

A PICTURE BOOK IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS.

I just had the honor of doing a guest post on picture book author Clarike Bowman-Jahn’s blog.  We talked about picture books and how their messages can help young children. 

Please click on the link so you can read all about it!