Have you been caught reading lately?

Posted on May 25, 2011 by viviankirkfield

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Does your child love books?

How often does your child see the adults in your home reading?

Do you read to your child every day?

Just 15 minutes a day is all it takes to read a picture book story to your child.

IMPORTANT TIP: those might be the most important 15 minutes of your day.

Reading to children accomplishes amazing things:

Builds self-esteem!
Develops pre-literacy skills!
Engages your child in the story between the pages!
Encourages your child to relate what happens in the story to his or her own life!
Provides an opportunity for you to discuss sensitive topics with your child that may be difficult for you to talk about!
Creates a life-long parent-child bond!

Here’s a wonderful story that helps us (and our children) realize that we are all special and have unique qualities and talents to share with others.

ZARA’S HATS written and illustrated by Paul Meisel

Zara is a young girl who helps her parents decorate hats in the family hat shop. Disaster strikes when their supply of feathers is depleted and they cannot obtain any more. Zara’s father goes abroad to buy more feathers and, while he is away, Zara begins to decorate the untrimmed hats with fabric flowers and paper mache animals and fruits. Her hats are an immediate success! When her father returns without any feathers, the hat shop continues to feature Zara’s amazing hat creations.

Positive Parental Participation Note:

What lessons can we learn from this story that can be implemented with our own children to help them develop a positive self-image? Zara and her parents participated in many activities together. They allowed her to help in the shop. In addition, they encouraged her creativity and gave her positive feedback when she tried new ways of decorating the hats.

Of course, we don’t need to open a hat shop in order to build our children’s self-confidence. By focusing on their special gifts and talents, we can make our children feel special at home every day!

Do you want to choose the right books to read to your child? Pick up a copy of Show Me How! Story summaries of 100 of the best picture books every young child should hear are provided…along with an easy craft activity and a simple recipe for each book. Go to my websiteto take advantage of the 50% off sale!

Summer is coming…don’t get caught with nothing to do with your little ones. You can check out one of the latest reviews of Show Me How at The Mom Writes. You’ll see why every family with young children really needs a copy of this great resource.

Don’t have little ones of your own? Grab a copy for a friend or relative who does…they will be forever grateful.

Simple Crafts for Summer Fun: To-Do Tuesdays

Posted on May 17, 2011 by viviankirkfield

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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.

Making Memories With Your Children: Summer Craft Activities

Posted on May 14, 2011 by viviankirkfield

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I was in Chicago last weekend for Mother’s Day with my son and daughter-in-law. I also had an opportunity to visit with my sister and her sons and their families.

One evening, we all got together at a fantastic BBQ, hosted by my nephew and his wife. We all had a great time…the food was not only delicious, but healthful as well…kudos to Dave and Rebecca!

After dinner, we sat down to look at the old photo albums my sister had brought. As we turned the pages and my son and his cousin (both in their 30’s) exclaimed over each picture, I realized how important the pictures were…they reminded these grown men of the children they had been and the activities they had been involved in when they were young.

Summer is just around the corner…I know many parents are wondering how they will fill the long hot days with their children.

Of course, there are various solutions to this problem:

Put them in some kind of day camp…might be costly.
Sit them in front of the TV…how many cartoons do you really want them to watch?
Send them to someone else’s house…don’t you want to be the one they get their values and information from?

What is my solution to the problem of young children home for the summer?

READING…CRAFTING…COOKING!

Young children are always eager to hear a good picture book story.

Young children love arts and crafts.

Young children enjoy helping in the kitchen.

If you buy a copy of my book that is FILLED with picture book suggestions and summaries, easy arts and crafts activities and simple healthful recipes, you will be prepared for the long hot summer days ahead.

For starters, here’s a great idea that comes from Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking. It will help capture those memories for your child as you create a photo album together.

AN ALBUM OF ME

You will need: A small blank photo album, a selection of photos of your child at different stages of his or her life, self-stick labels and a fine point marker.

1. With your child, go through some of the pictures that you have of him from birth to the present…and let him choose several to include in his own album. Make copies if you want to keep the originals in the family album.

2. Help your child insert each photo and then write a description (with his input) on a label or small strip of paper and press or glue it on the bottom of each page.

3. Listen to your child while he turns the pages of his album and tells you the story of his life.

4. Important tip: keep a camera handy…you never know when a photo opportunity arises.

Activities like this help:

build your child’s self-esteem!
develop pre-reading skills!
create a life-long parent-child bond!
keep your child busy in a constructive positive fun-filled way that will be fun for you also!