Is It Too Early To Begin Planning For The New School Year?

Posted on June 25, 2011 by viviankirkfield

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I know that summer has just begun. Many of us are thinking of poolside parties and frozen pops and Fourth of July parades.

But if your child is starting school in August, or if there were problems adjusting to the classroom routine last year, it’s not too early to think about how you can insure a smooth transition from home to school. This holds true for older children as well as for those of preschool age.

What can parents do during the summer to prepare for the new school year?

1. Have an upbeat, matter-of-fact, positive attitude about school.

2. If your child has not been there yet, arrange for a visit before school starts.

3. Connect with parents of other children in the class and have play dates with your child’s classmates…children feel more at ease when they see friendly faces in the classroom.

4. If you don’t have a routine in place for bedtime and getting-ready-for-the-day-in-the-morning time, put them in place now. Make it a habit to discuss plans for the next day in the evening and lay out clothes and anything else needed the night before. When school starts, your child will be used to getting things ready and you won’t have that last minute rush in the morning to find the missing shoe or backpack. Regarding bedtime, please make sure you are allowing plenty of time for your child to get ready (brush teeth, wash, lay out clothes and necessary items, story-time, etc.) and still be getting to bed at a reasonable hour. I know that it is tempting to let young children stay up later, especially in the summer, but when school starts, it will be a difficult habit to break…and young children need more than 10 hours of sleep at night.

5. Make sure your child is eating a good breakfast in the morning…when school starts, this will be even more important. And what is a good breakfast? My younger son loved pizza for breakfast. Some children might prefer eggs and toast, cereal with fruit and milk, French toast and bacon or pancakes with fruit toppings. How about peanut butter and banana on whole wheat bread for a highly nutritious breakfast?

Do you have some super breakfast menus that your children love? Please share! We all need fresh ideas.

Many times, children who are fussy eaters become better eaters when you let them help out in the kitchen. If you are looking for some easy child-friendly recipes, Show Me How! has one hundred of them and teams each cooking activity with a picture book suggestion and an easy eco-friendly arts and crafts project. Head on over to my website to take advantage of the Jump Into Summer Special…50% off the cover price. The book makes a great gift for any parent, grandparent, expectant parent, babysitter, nanny, daycare provider, preschool teacher…and there is an additional discount if you buy two copies…only $20 per copy! You will be getting two copies for less than the cover price of one! And, if you order by June 30^th, we are including a bonus sheet of self-stick gold stars that can be used on goal charts and more!

Studies show that the quality time you spend with your young children now has a positive impact on their school performance in later years. This is a great opportunity to get a wonderful resource you can use on a daily basis, year after year. Show Me Howis an award-winning book endorsed by parents, teachers and national organizations such as the JDRF. To be in your children’s memories tomorrow, you need to be in their lives today. This is a book that makes it easy and fun to be in your children’s lives today! It is the ONLY book you will need to buy to plan educational, self-esteem building activities for your preschoolers. Don’t put it off until tomorrow!

Reading with Mom Can Boost Kindergarten Readiness (nlm.nih.gov)
Computers in Preschool: Hurting or Helping? (education.com)
Reconciling our 3c’s with the German education system (americanauslander.wordpress.com)
Bullying in Preschool: What Parents Need to Know (education.com)

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood – Colorado Springs PBS Kids Fun Fest at Acacia Park

Posted on June 13, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Hundreds of happy children and their parents turned out for the Southern Colorado Rocky Mountain PBS Kids Fun Fest on Saturday, June 11^th at Acacia Park in downtown Colorado Springs.

With music and entertainment on the bandstand and Clifford the Big Red Dog and Curious George in costume, Acacia Park came alive. It was also the official opening of the Uncle Wilbur Fountain that many children enjoy during the hot summer days.

I was thrilled to be partnering with PBS and even before the event got underway, early visitors stopped by to check out the SHOW ME HOW table. Almost 70 parents filled out an entry for the free craft supply kit…and the winner is…Dawn!!! I’ll be emailing her today to let her know she is the lucky winner!

Many of the participants at the Fun Fest offered activities for the children…at the Show Me How! table, we were crafting Curious George paper plate faces and Clifford the Big Red Dog headbands with doggy ears. Easy enough for a very young child to do and so much fun…using inexpensive materials that parents already have around the house…paper, crayons or markers, a paper plate, scissors and glue. Hundreds of happy children walked away proudly wearing their Clifford headbands and waving their Curious George paper plate faces.

It was amazing to see how much the children enjoyed these simple art activities. Even though my book is geared for children ages 2 to 5, many of the older children sat down and eagerly began decorating their headbands or paper plate faces. Just because the headband was for Clifford the Big Red Dog didn’t mean that the children had to color it red. In fact, there were many rainbow headbands and others with detailed designs. One child decided that his Curious George paper plate face needed to be a frog instead of a monkey and so he used green markers to color it in. Hurray for the uniqueness of every child!!!!

I was so happy to see the parents participating with their children because that’s what Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking is all about! The book is a road map for parents and teachers…open it to any page and you will find a picture book suggestion with summary and a simple craft project and an easy recipe.

Are you overwhelmed and tired at the end of the day? I know I was when my children were small. I would have loved to have a resource like Show Me How! In fact, that’s why I wrote the book, because I realized that many parents have so much on their plate these days, they often don’t have the time or the energy to plan fun-filled educational self-esteem-building activities for their little ones.

Please head over to my website where you can purchase a copy of this amazing award-winning book for only $22.50…that’s a 50% saving off the cover price! You can’t get much for under $25 these days when it comes to gifts and Father’s Day is right around the corner. Chris Singer @bookdads is doing a tribute to fathers and I did a guest post on his blog. You’ll have fresh ideas for the whole summer and beyond! And here’s a BONUS: if you purchase a copy from my website during the next 14 days, you’ll be entered into a drawing for a free craft supply kit for your preschooler…safety scissors, glue stick, construction paper, and more!

I’d also like to remind anyone who is local to the Colorado Springs/Monument Colorado area that next Saturday, June 18^th from 11am to 2pm there will be a town-wide festival for children called the Summer Soul-Stice. I’ll be at the Covered Treasures Bookstore, crafting with children. There was an announcement in the Denver Post and other local papers about it…so I’m hoping there will be a big turnout! Please stop by and say hello.

The Best of the Best: Indie Excellence In Books Awards

Posted on June 9, 2011 by viviankirkfield

They say good things come in threes.

The first good thing: I just had the best four days with my daughter, son-in-law and grandson. Spending “quality” time with a two and a half year-old is such fun. We planted flowers, went fishing in one of Colorado’s most beautiful areas, played with puzzles, read stories, made teddy-bear pancakes and crafted a Clifford the Big Red Dog paper plate…one of the crafts I will be doing with the children at the PBS Kids Fun Fest at Acacia Park in downtown Colorado Springs on Saturday from 10am to 2pm. And that’s the second good thing: I’m really excited to be part of this great PBS event and I hope everyone who is local to Colorado Springs will stop by and say hello at the Show Me How! booth.

The third good thing: I wanted to share a recent press release from the Indie Excellence in Books Awards. Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking was a finalist in the Parenting/Family category!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: MoneyPenny Press, Ltd.

moneypennypress@q.com

719-237-3111

Vivian Kirkfield Honored by National Indie Excellence Awards

Contest recognizes outstanding independently published books

Show Me How! Captures Parenting/Family Finalist Award

Colorado Springs, CO – SHOW ME HOW! BUILD YOUR CHILD’S SELF-ESTEEM THROUGH READING, CRAFTING AND COOKING by Vivian Kirkfield has been selected as a Finalist of the 2011 Indie Excellence Award in the Parenting category.

The Indie Excellence Awards are reserved for the “best of the best” in books published in various genres. The criteria for recognition are stringent and include overall excellence in presentation. This award celebrates the highest achievements in independent press and self-publishing.

Winners and finalists were announced on Sunday, May 15. For a complete list of the honorees visit: http://www.indieexcellence.com/indie-results-2011.htm.

SHOW ME HOW! BUILD YOUR CHILD’S SELF-ESTEEM THROUGH READING, CRAFTING AND COOKING, a unique resource for busy parents and teachers of preschoolers, pinpoints 100 picture books every young child should hear and provides a story summary, parenting tip, eco-friendly craft project and child-friendly recipe for each recommended title. Parents gain confidence in their own parenting abilities as they help their children build self-esteem, develop pre-literacy skills and create a life-long parent-child bond using the simple fun-filled activities.

Kirkfield, a kindergarten and Head Start teacher for many years, developed a program that uses picture books to help young children deal with the many challenges they face. Her Show-Me-How Story-time presentations entertain and educate local school children and she speaks to mom groups and teacher organizations about building self-esteem with positive parental participation and picture books. Endorsed by educators and self-esteem experts, Show Me How! has also won the coveted Kidlutions Preferred Product Award.

Why not head over to my website: http://www.positiveparentalparticipation.com and buy a copy of this unique resource during the Jump Into Summer Sale. For only $22.50 which is 50% off the cover price, you will not be wondering what to do with your preschooler this summer…simple fun-filled activities galore…inexpensive and educational entertainment for the entire family!