Project 365 Challenge: Official Comment Page for January

Posted on January 9, 2012 by viviankirkfield

Are you taking part in the 2012 Positive Parental Participation Challenge?

I got a great suggestion from Jennifer, one of the parents reading to her child every day. She thought it would help if we set aside a page each month for parents to bookmark and return to as they read picture books and do other activities with their kids. That would make it easier for me to keep track of the comments when it comes time to award the picture book prize at the end of each month.

So this will be the post/page reserved for January comments. Don’t worry if you comment on a different page though…I will definitely count all of the comments that pertain to the picture books and activities. Jennifer, I really appreciate the feedback and will send a picture book out to you for your help!

I was visiting several new blogs recently, as part of Susannah Hill’s Perfect Picture Book Friday and the Comment Challenge from MotherReader and Lee Wind. The problem with visiting and commenting on so many blogs is that you forget where you were. Anyway, on one of these fantastic blogs, I saw a quote that I’ve always loved. If you recognize it as one that is posted on your blog, please let me know so I can thank you.

“We beg,

We pray,

Go throw your TV set away,

And in its place you can install,

A lovely bookcase on the wall.”

Roald Dahl, prolific author of children’s books, is best known for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach. If you want to find out more about him or his books, you can visit his amazing website.

Does your family watch a lot of TV? I’m not saying that all TV is bad…there are definitely some worthwhile educational shows for kids…PBS has some wonderful offerings…not just kid’s programming…the music specials are fantastic!

But what else could you all be doing if you turned it off? Join the Challenge…and if you don’t have young children, please pass along this link to others that do. I will thank you now in advance…their children will thank you years from now when they are doing well in school and loving reading!

No Rules…Just Read!

Two Versions of a Picture Book Spread (illustratorsforkids.wordpress.com)
Project 365 and the 2012 Positive Parental Participation Challenge (viviankirkfield.wordpress.com)
Picture Perfect Book Friday: The Kissing Hand (viviankirkfield.wordpress.com)

Quotable Timeless Tuesday: Earth Day 2011…Explore Our National Parks…FOR FREE

Posted on April 19, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Image via Wikipedia

“O beautiful, for spacious skies,

For amber waves of grain.

For purple mountains majesties,

Above the fruited plain.

America, America, God shed His grace on thee,

And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.”

This poem was written by Katherine Lee Bates, a thirty-three year old English professor. In 1893, Bates took a train trip to Colorado Springs to teach a summer course at Colorado College. What she saw on her trip, especially the view of the Great Plains from the top of Pikes Peak, inspired her to write the poem which was published two years later to commemorate the 4^th of July. The poem was set to music in 1892 by Samuel Ward who wrote the melody while on a ferryboat ride from Coney Island to New York City. He had no paper to write on and was afraid he would forget it, so he asked a fellow passenger for his shirt cuff.

Earth Day 2011 is quickly approaching (April 22) and what better way to spend it than to explore one of our National Parks.

Do you live close to one of them?

We do…Rocky Mountain National Park…is only a 2½ hour drive from us. We’ve been there many times…to hike, to fly-fish and to look at the abundant flora and fauna with wonder and awe. It is a wonderful place for children!

One of the fantastic bloggers I have recently connected with did a great post on the National Parks and she lists the days that you can get in FOR FREE! Check it out at http://nrhatch.wordpress.com/2011/04/18/national-parks-week-free-admission/

Tomorrow is the start of the Hoppy Easter Eggstravaganza Giveaway Blog Event…please stop by….and wish me luck…I hope I post it correctly. 🙂

It’s Thursday…Missed Wednesday…Let’s Pretend That It’s Tuesday!`

Posted on April 14, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Image via Wikipedia

This week is a little mixed up for me.

Does that ever happen to you?

I hosted the Read with Max Book Blog tour on Tuesday and that was kind of a book review which usually appears on my Wednesday post. To find out more information about Leader Dogs for the Blind or to follow Max on the rest of his book blog tour: http://readwithmax.com/blogbooktour.html

So I decided to use today’s post, which is usually Healthy Habit Thursday, to fill you in on several important events that are coming up in the next several weeks. And, since I didn’t have a chance to do Quotable Timeless Tuesday, I will add a few quotes to this post that are especially meaningful to me.

It makes sense to me…I hope it doesn’t confuse you too much. 🙂

First of all, this week (April 10 – April 16) is THE WEEK OF THE YOUNG CHILD. This is the NAEYC’s 40^th anniversary of this celebration that focuses on young children and their families. https://www.naeyc.org/

In honor of The Week of the Young Child, I’ve got a very special sale going on right now to help enable young families to purchase a copy of SHOW ME HOW! BUILD YOUR CHILD’S SELF-ESTEEM THROUGH READING, CRAFTING AND COOKING. You can check it out by going to my website…if you pay by check or money order, you can purchase the book for $14.95 (plus postage…U.S. only)…only one copy per address, no dealers, please. This is an amazing 66% off the cover price of $44.95. The book is a great resource for parents with young children and I am trying to make it available to as many parents as possible.

“IF YOU WANT TO BE IN YOUR CHILD’S MEMORIES TOMORROW, YOU NEED TO BE IN THEIR LIVES TODAY.”

The second item I’d like to share with you is that my book has been endorsed by the JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) in their 2011 Winter Outreach Newsletter that is emailed to all of their chapters across the country. The Las Vegas, Nevada Chapter has already ordered 15 copies to keep at their headquarters for the use by families who have children with juvenile diabetes. Self-esteem can be fragile and children with disabilities and special needs or conditions often struggle with keeping a positive self-image. The JDRF believes that my book will help.

“WE ALL NEED A CHEERING COMMITTEE AND PARENTS ARE A CHILD’S MOST IMPORTANT FANS!”

The third thing I wanted to tell you is that I will be interviewed on Tuesday, May 24^th at 10am by Lisa Hein, host of Everyday Parenting on http://www.encountersouthbeach.com/REN_RadioEarNetwork.htm

I’m really excited about the opportunity to share how I feel about young children, positive parenting and using fun-filled activities to build self-esteem, develop pre-literacy skills and create a life-long parent-child bond. I was happy to discover that Lisa is originally from Colorado and will be here in June…we already have plans to connect over lunch.

And now for the final item of information: I will be taking part in the EASTER EGGSTRAVAGANZA GIVEAWAY BLOG HOP from April 20 – April 25. It will be the first time I will be giving away a copy of my book on my own blog, although it has been part of many reviews and several giveaways on other blog sites. The other really cool thing is that there are over 200 bloggers taking part…you will be able to hop from one to another…read their posts and enter their giveaways. So keep your eye on my posts for more information. http://iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com/p/giveaway-hop-page.html

Please stop by tomorrow for Follow-Me-Fridays: Where’s Miss Vivian?