Five Simple Steps for a Healthier School Year

Posted on September 9, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Your child is going to school. As a parent, what can you do to make it the healthiest year ever?

Perhaps your child is a preschooler and will be attending a daycare or nursery school. Maybe your child is already in elementary school. Here are five simple steps that may keep your child from getting sick.

Wash hands often: everyone should have their own towel…perhaps a different color for each member of the family. This helps colds from spreading like wild-fires!
Dress appropriately: when it is cold, children should be dressed warmly, with hats or hoods on their heads…no ifs, ands or buts!
Get enough sleep: young children need LOTS of sleep so set up bedtime routines and stick to them. Our body renews and cells regenerate during sleep. Did you know that children between the ages of 2 and 5 need 11-14 hours of sleep? For more information about sleep and young children, you can go to: http://www.sleepforkids.org/html/sheet.html.
Make every meal and snack count: a good breakfast is a MUST and snacks can provide additional important nutrition, especially for picky eaters. For more ideas on healthy meal planning for the whole family, you can visit: http://kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_center/healthy_eating/habits.html
Keep a sick child home: I know it is difficult, especially when parents work…but your child will get better sooner and the teacher and the other children in the class will thank you. With these tips, your children may stay healthy this school year and you won’t have to keep them home.

On September 24^th, the Show-Me-How with Miss Vivian program will be at Family Christian Store, 7165 North Academy Blvd, Colorado Springs, CO. There will be one presentation from 12 to 12:45pm. I’ll be reading Johnny Lion’s Bad Day to the parents and children and then we will all make Paper Plate Lions. This program is appropriate for children from two to seven years old. In addition, there will be a flyer for parents to take home about staying healthy this school year. I hope we will have a good turn-out…please spread the word and tweet this and post to Facebook…maybe some of your followers are local to Colorado Springs.

SAVE THE DATE

STAYING HEALTHY

THIS SCHOOL YEAR!

SHOW-ME-HOW STORY-TIME PROGRAM

Saturday, September 24, 2011

12 to 12:45pm

Family Christian Store: 7165 N. Academy

719-598-1500 to RSVP

Bring your young children and listen to a story
Help your child make a simple craft project
Get a free flyer: Have a Healthier School Year

Vivian Kirkfield is a local author, former kindergarten and Head Start teacher and mom of three. Her parenting program and award-winning activity book for ages 2-7, Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking, has helped thousands of parents build self-esteem, develop pre-literacy skills and create a stronger parent-child connection.

For more information: 719-237-3111 or vivian@positiveparentalparticipation.com

A Reel Cool Summer is a Really Cool Book for Kids

Posted on September 5, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Several weeks ago, I connected online with another author, Martha Rodriguez.

We realized we were on the same page about many things…have 3 children (2 boys and a girl), love our families, have a passion for picture books, recently had our first books published…the list could go on and on. Martha and I exchanged books and she’s already written a review of my book: http://bit.ly/peQ3mt

So now it my turn to tell you all about her book, A Reel Cool Summer.

As parents, we all know how difficult it can be to keep children entertained and busy…especially during the long hot summer. The story opens with three siblings, Joey, Jacqui and Danny, complaining about how there is NOTHING to do. After bantering back and forth, the three kids decide that what they need is a pool for their backyard so that they can cool off. While the two younger children go to ask their mother if they can buy a pool, Joey, the oldest, goes to get the mail.

After pleading with their mother to no avail, Joey takes his brother and sister aside and tells them about a contest that the library is holding. All they have to do is make a movie…and the winner will receive $100…enough to buy the pool that they all want. The entire family works together to build the props and make the costumes and Danny, Jacqui and Joey finish the movie and hand it in to the library with just moments to spare. Will they win the first place prize of $100 and be able to buy the pool that they want? Will they win the third place prize of the mystery box that contains who knows what? You’ll have to buy a copy of this lovely book to find out. You can visit the author’s website and purchase a copy at: http://www.readtomepublishingllc.com/Book.html

She also has a blog: http://areelcoolsummer.blogspot.com/

And you can contact her: info@readtomepublishingllc.com

One of the coolest things about this book is that kids love it. I brought it along with me on my recent trip to Chicago and read it to my 8-year old great-niece and 6-year old great-nephew. They absolutely LOVED it and listened intently to the story. They took turns reading some of the pages and were engaged with the colorful illustrations…which were done by the author’s now-adult son, Joey.

Ms. Rodriguez is to be commended on her first book for children. ..kids obviously love it. As soon as we turned the last page, my niece and nephew jumped up and ran into the house clamoring, “Can we go in the pool?” They were also anxious to hear it another time, so later we sat under the shade of a big tree and read the book again.

I’m sure that the author has more stories about Joey and Jacqui and Danny that she will share with us in future books…I know my niece and nephew and all kids ages 5 to 9 will be ready to listen.

Show-Me-How Story-time with Miss Vivian Travels to Chicago

Posted on August 28, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Frank Sinatra sang songs about many of the cities that he loved…New York – San Francisco – Chicago.

After a fantastic long weekend in Chicago, I’ll have to echo some of his words (written by Sammy Kahn and Jimmy Van Heusen):

Chicago is one town

That won’t let you down

It’s my kind of town.

I arrived on Friday morning and spent the day relaxing with my son and daughter-in-law at their home. Visiting with them is like going to a spa…they LOVE to cook “healthy” and every morning they start the day with a bowl of fresh fruit…mangoes, papayas, bananas, apples, peaches…drizzled with a little honey. For lunch each day, my son made a huge vegetable salad bowl for each of us…cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, mushrooms…all topped with some capers and a splash of aged blueberry balsamic vinegar.

My book event, Starting School Jitters Be Gone, on Saturday at Lollie, a children’s boutique in Evanston, just 20 minutes north of downtown Chicago, was so much fun! This shop is an amazing place…filled with many handmade and locally designed clothes and accessories, as well as other unique items for infants, toddlers and children. The owner is knowledgeable, helpful and a really lovely lady…I know if I lived in the Chicago area, I’d stop in there for any new baby gifts I needed, as well as for birthday and Christmas presents for any little ones on my list.

Of course, Mother Nature had her own plans for 11am, the time the first presentation was to start. The skies over the entire Chicago area darkened, and the heavens poured forth a torrential rainstorm, accompanied by huge claps of thunder and crackling flashes of lightening.

Inside Lollie, however, everything was bright and cheery. A group of young children listened attentively as I read The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. As the story about Chester unfolded, the children heard how the little raccoon, anxious about his first day of kindergarten, learned a secret from his mother that helped him overcome his fear and go to school with eager anticipation.

After the story reached its happy conclusion, I showed the children a sample of the craft project and explained how we would all be making “Kissing Handprints”…deciding who we loved and who loved us and then drawing in the features for each person (or pet or stuffed animal) on each finger.

Parents and children clustered around the craft table and we proceeded to draw an outline of each child’s hands. The hum of happy children, busily engaged in a constructive activity with their parents, is definitely music to my ears. “This finger is going to be my mommy” said one little girl. “And those are my dogs” she added.

The storm had ended by the time the second presentation was over. My son and daughter-in-law, who had brought me and had assisted during the program, helped me pack everything up. I’m looking forward to my next trip to Chicago…Lollie’s owner has invited me to come back to do another program, whenever I’m in town. Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking is available at the shop for those of you who are in the Chicago area.

The next few days were filled with family visits, an afternoon at the beach – unbelievable to have a REAL sandy beach with what looks and smells like the ocean (it’s really Lake Michigan) right across the street from the downtown area of a major city – and an architectural river boat cruise. It was difficult to leave…I’m already looking at my calendar to see when my next jaunt to Chicago will be.

My next post will be a review of a children’s book, A Reel Cool Summer, written by Martha Rodriguez. We connected online and she loved my book and did a great review of it. I brought her book on my trip and was able to share it with my great-niece and great-nephew…they absolutely loved it and were totally engaged in the story…so in my next post, it will be my turn to tell everyone why they need to run out and get a copy of Ms. Rodriguez’ fun-filled book for children ages 6-9.

Photo credit: Thanks to JCrocker for the Chicago skyline pic.