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.

Are Children Putting a Strain on Your Marriage?

Posted on May 29, 2011 by viviankirkfield

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A recent study of couples found that 90% were less happy with their marriage once they became parents.

90%…THAT IS REALLY SCARY!

Here are some of the possible reasons for the lack of satisfaction in these marriages.

Lack of sleep
Fragmented attention
Strained finances
Disagreement over how to raise the children
Any or all of the above

What can couples do to reverse this trend?

1. Spend time together…just the two of you…to keep the romance alive. It can be a walk in the park, a night out or just a quick lunch while the kids are in school.

2. Spend time alone…to remember who you are…you are not just a mom or dad or husband or wife. Go for a solitary walk, take a relaxing bubble bath when no one else is home or sign up for an adult education class that meets once a week.

3. Spend time touching each other…and I’m not talking about sexual foreplay…as enjoyable as that may be. 🙂 It is so important to reach out and express your love by holding hands, remembering to give a loving caress on head or cheek as you pass by and making eye contact…your eyes are the windows of your soul.

Paying attention to these three things will go a long way towards keeping the flame alive and the relationship fresh.

There will be an added benefit as well…children tend to model themselves after their parents. Parents who are loving and respectful of each other are great role models for their children.

Is the question of how to fill all those summer hours of children home and nothing to do also putting a strain on you? Head over to my website and purchase a copy of Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking, NOW ON SALE FOR 50% OFF THE COVER PRICE. Filled with 100’s of simple inexpensive craft projects, cooking activities and picture book story suggestions and summaries, this award-winning book for parents and teachers does all the planning for you and will keep you and your kids busy and happy all summer long and beyond!

Dollar Store Madness: Where’s Miss Vivian?

Posted on May 21, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Ad for St. Joachim Dollar Store, Boston. From:...

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I took the day off from work today.

I had several vacation days left that needed to be used before May 22.

I thought about turning over and going back to sleep, but then I would feel that I had “wasted” the day.

One of the most important things on my to-do list was to get over to one of our local dollars store to grab some stuff for the upcoming Rocky Mountain PBS Kids Fun Fest on June 11.

The dollar stores are a take-off on the old discount stores like Woolworth’s 5 & 10 and John’s Bargain Stores. I remember fondly many afternoons spent combing the aisles in John’s Bargain Stores in New York City as a young girl…colorful scarves, pencils with fancy erasers, costume jewelry and more!

A plastic tablecloth and items for the bag of craft supplies giveaway were on the top of the list. After walking up and down the aisles several times and asking one of the women who worked there, I came away with 3 bags of stuff, most of which wasn’t on my list. Dollar stores are like that. Unfortunately, they didn’t have a lime green tablecloth, so I settled for red…but now that I think about it, I should have chosen the yellow. And they didn’t have the glue sticks or safety scissors they had last time. So I will probably have to go back tomorrow or head over to a different dollar store location to see if their shelves have what I need.

Do you shop at dollar stores? Are we really getting a bargain or does it just feel that way because everything is a dollar? I don’t know…maybe the same item is 50 cents at a regular store. 🙂

I wanted to pass along a wonderful post by blogger Kathryn of Kid Culture. She writes about a topic near and dear to my heart: Self-Esteem and Respecting Others and gives parents some great tips.

We all want our children to grow up with a positive self-image. There are many things we can do to ensure that…one of the most important is to spend positive time with them. Open Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking to any page and you will find a summary of a great picture book to read to your preschooler, a gentle parenting tip to help you use the story to build self-esteem, an easy eco-friendly craft and a simple healthful cooking activity. This great resource can definitely be a life-saver for busy parents. Grab a copy during our half-price sale and you will be ready for the long hot summer days!