What’s In Your Child’s Bookcase Wordy Wednesday: Show Me How! Giveaway and the Hoppy Easter Eggstravaganza Blog Hop!

Posted on April 20, 2011 by viviankirkfield

A HOPPY EASTER EGGSTRAVAGANZA BLOG HOP

APRIL 20 – APRIL 25

THIS IS A MEGA-GIVEAWAY BLOG HOP HOSTED BY:

I AM A READER NOT A WRITER AND ONCE UPON A TWILIGHT

THERE WILL BE ONE COPY OF SHOW ME HOW! IN MY GIVEAWAY (USA ONLY)

MANDATORY ENTRY: YOU MUST SUBSCRIBE TO MY BLOG BY CLICKING ON “EMAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS” AND ALSO LEAVE A COMMENT

IN THE COMMENT FIELD

THERE ARE OVER 250 BLOGS PARTICIPATING IN THIS GIVEAWAY HOP

YOU CAN CLICK ON THIS LINK AND IT WILL GIVE YOU THE LINKY LIST

http://iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com/p/giveaway-hop-page.html

SO NOW I WANT TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE BOOK AND WHY YOU MIGHT WANT TO WIN THE COPY!

My passion for children’s picture books began over fifty years ago. As I sat on my mother’s lap and helped her turn the pages of The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton, a new and exciting world was revealed to me.

As a kindergarten and Head Start teacher, I developed a program that used picture books, not only for entertainment and enjoyment, but also to help young children deal with the challenges they face in those early years.

During my years as a daycare provider and mother of three, I continued reading picture book stories to the children on a daily basis, and I added crafting and cooking activities to enhance and enrich their learning experience.

I found that reading, crafting and cooking with young children helped build their self-esteem. These activities also developed their pre-literacy skills and each child entered kindergarten ready to read, if not reading already. Best of all, my positive interaction created a life-long parent-child bond.

So, I decided to share the stories, the crafts and the recipes and I wrote a book all about them.

SHOW ME HOW! BUILD YOUR CHILD’S SELF-ESTEEM THROUGH READING, CRAFTING AND COOKING, is for parents, grandparents, teachers, daycare providers…basically anyone who is involved in the care and education of young children.

It pinpoints 100 picture book stories every young child should hear.
It offers a story summary and a gentle parenting tip for each recommended title.
It provides a simple eco-friendly arts and crafts project that ties in with each story.
It gives an easy healthful child-friendly recipe for each suggested picture book.

Believe me, I know how overwhelming parenting can be…and that’s why I wrote the book! It’s really a fantastic resource for busy parents and teachers who need a shortcut to educational, fun-filled, self-esteem building activities. I found that when children are provided with these types of activities on a daily basis, there is balance and harmony and PEACE in the home.

Now, some of you might be saying, “I have too much to do already. How will I find the time to do those activities?”

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

Just 15 minutes is all it takes to do the simple craft.

Just 15 minutes is all it takes to prepare most of the easy recipes.

There is also a neat schedule at the end of the book that would be perfect for someone who is homeschooling their children or even for a daycare provider who is looking for some time-management tips.

The book has been endorsed by parents, educators, self-esteem experts and picture book authors. Everyone who picks it up says that it is magical. Everyone who reads it loves it. It’s been reviewed on more than a dozen mom and dad blogs…and they have all recommended it. Several posted pictures of their own children engaged in the some of the craft projects.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) has also recommended that all of their chapter headquarters, in cities across the country, purchase it to keep on hand as a resource for the families they help. I donate a portion of the proceeds of each book sale to JDRF. The sales of my book also benefit a mobile children’s literacy outreach organization, www.Bessthebookbus.org.

So, if you don’t win the copy in this giveaway, maybe you’ll want to purchase it on my website and you will be helping both of these worthwhile causes. You’ll also be guaranteeing that you won’t run out of ideas of what to do with your little ones in the coming months. And, if you don’t have little ones, remember Mother’s Day is just around the corner…this would be a great gift idea for any mothers or grandmothers or mothers-to-be that you know. If you do have little ones, perhaps your child’s daycare provider or nursery school teacher could use some fresh ideas. And don’t forget about graduation…if you know anyone who is receiving a degree in Early Childhood Education, the book will be a perfect resource for them as they go out to work with young children.

Last month, I visited my daughter in New Hampshire and was able to read, craft and cook with my 2½ year old grandson. I can guarantee that the book REALLY WORKS! The Show-Me-How Story-time Program has also been implemented in some of the schools in my city and, if you’ve read my “Follow-Me-Friday: Where’s Miss Vivian?” posts, you’ll know how much fun the children are having when I visit the Pre-K’s and kindergartens to read picture books and do craft projects.

Right now you have an opportunity to win the FREE COPY that I am offering as part of the Hoppy Easter Eggstravaganza Blog Hop. To be entered in this giveaway, there are three things you can do. The giveaway begins at 12:01am Wednesday, April 20^th and ends Monday, April 25^th at 11:59pm.

1. Mandatory entry: subscribe to my blog…there is a place on the left sidebar to do that…leave a comment to let me know. (If you already subscribe, please leave a comment to let me know that also.)

3. Post my giveaway on twitter or facebook. Please leave a comment to let me know.

4. Blog about my book giveaway on your blog. Again, please leave a comment and your blog address.

No matter how you enter, please make sure you leave your name, so that I’ll know how you entered and I will be able to contact you if you are the WINNER!

There are over 200 blogs participating in the Hoppy Easter Eggstravaganza Blog Hop. If you click on the link, you should be able to visit the other blogs and see what great stuff they are giving away!

http://iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com/p/giveaway-hop-page.html

Have fun hopping around…and good luck!

Follow-Me-Fridays: Where’s Miss Vivian?

Posted on April 15, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Image via Wikipedia

Yesterday I walked into Bristol Elementary School…the halls are brightly decorated with the artistic efforts of the students. The two kindergartens where I was to do my presentation are separated by another room which serves as an office for the two teachers and their assistants…what a great set-up!

The children were eager to hear the story of Cornelius P. Mud, Are You Ready For Bed? by Barney Saltzberg. The teacher had introduced me as ‘Miss Vivian, who used to teach kindergarten many years ago and now she wrote a book about books and she is going to read to us today’. I opened the picture book to the inner title page and began, “This is a story about a little pig named Cornelius who does some very silly things…Cornelius P. Mud, Are You Ready For Bed?” I have to tell you how amazed I was when one of the boys asked, “And who is the author?” Usually I do say the author’s name after I tell them the title…this time I didn’t, and it was great to hear such a question from a 5-year old. 🙂 After I told them the name of the author, the same child piped up, “And who drew the pictures?” We talked a minute about the fact that in this particular book, the author was also the illustrator and then we read the story about the little pig getting ready for bed. When Cornelius brushes his teeth with soap and a body brush, the kindergarteners laughed. And when the little pig chooses a pile of TWENTY books as his bedtime story, the children knew that his father would NEVER read so many books at one time. But when Cornelius feeds his fish CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES, one girl raised her hand and said, “If you feed your fish cookies, they will die because cookies have sugar and fish can’t eat things with sugar.” I agreed and added that it was a good thing that this was just a story and that many stories are just “made up” and those events didn’t really happen. “That’s because it’s fiction!” exclaimed another child.

WOW!!!!!

I guess that is one of the things that I love most about young children…they are sponges for knowledge…what an opportunity parents and teachers have! It is so important to spend those precious moments with little ones…just 15 minutes is all it takes to read a picture book story or do a simple arts and crafts project or prepare something together in the kitchen. Those 15 minutes (or more if you have it) of “quality” time, participating positively with a child, leaves an impression that builds self-esteem, develops pre-literacy skills and creates a life-long parent-child bond.

After the story, I showed the children the No Tick-Tock Clock craft project and explained how we would proceed to make it. I loved the way the teacher wrote the steps on the board as I spoke…using a simple picture (like a bottle of glue) and then a word (like glue)…to give the children a reference to follow as they worked on their clocks. The children really enjoyed working on the simple craft project and were excited to be able to bring it home to show their parents and use it to help them know when it was time to get ready for bed.

If you are interested in getting a copy of a great resource that provides story suggestions, simple craft projects and easy healthful recipes, I hope you will take advantage of a very special sale going on right now to celebrate The Week Of The Young Child and 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 get the book for $14.95 (plus postage…U.S. only)…only one copy per address, no dealers, please (April 10-April 16). 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.

For those of you who are interested in the Read with Max Book Blog tour, 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

Also, please don’t forget that 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 Saturday Ramblings: Preserve, Protect and Promote…Earth Day 2011

A “Pawsitively” Fabulous Blog Tour: Meet Max the Dog!

Posted on April 12, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Usually I review picture books on Wednesdays…but today is very special because I am hosting my first ever book tour for an amazing author duo…MAX THE DOG AND HIS PARTNER, ANTHONY MAJEWSKI.

Maximus, a.k.a. “Max” is an English Labrador who shares stories about his real life experiences.

“Dogs Work Too! From Max’s Point of View” is about the day that Max visits Leader Dogs For The Blind. The adventure first outlines how Leader Dogs for the Blind was founded in 1939 and has placed over 14,000 dogs in 39 countries. Amazing! These wonderful dogs help people who are visually impaired or blind.

This is an organization that is privately funded (by donations from people like you and me) and it is near and dear to my heart. Many members of my own family (myself included) have serious eye conditions like glaucoma and macular degeneration and several have become blind because of those diseases. I truly understand the difficulties a blind person encounters in their day-to-day life…and how important a helper like a Leader Dog can be.

There is also a great giveaway that you will want to hear about, so make sure to read to the end. Also check out the Reading With Max blog as they have a whole tour schedule for each day.

With his buddy Co-Co by his side, the two explore the importance of training leader dogs and how the dedicated volunteers work so hard to provide well-trained leader dogs to people in need.

“Dogs Work Too! From Max’s Point of View” is a great book to read with your children and includes pictures on every page. It’s a great learning tool that will help young children understand how and why dogs work to help people…they can be more than just loving pets.

Reading picture books with young children engages them in the world between the pages, encourages them to observe what is happening to the characters in the story and allows them to relate those events to their own experiences. It is really important for us to teach our children to reach out to help others…and the books in this series are PERFECT for doing that! This book helps young children learn about people who are blind and the Leader Dogs who assist them. The book also gives encouragement to young children who are blind themselves.

Most children love dogs and this is a wonderful way to get them interested in guide dogs. It is an amazing sight to see a Leader Dog guiding his master (or mistress) down the street…equally amazing are the people who train Leader Dogs…they must be gentle, yet firm…sounds like good parenting advice, don’t you think? 🙂 You just might need to get your children this book. And, there is also a coloring book as well! You can purchase Max’s newest books, ask him questions, enter his contests, ask him for his paw-o-graph or tell him about your own adventures on his website.

And guess what? A portion of the proceeds from books sales will go to Leader Dogs for the Blind which is the non-profit organization that provides these well-trained dogs to blind or visually impaired people…FOR FREE! A wonderful cause and book to teach us the importance of dogs that work too!

“Dogs Work Too! From Max’s Point of View” CLICK HERE TO BUY

Visit READ WITH MAX to learn more! You’ll find books, coloring books and fun tattoos by Max.

Now, Max needs your help with something. He needs your vote!

Max’s video titled “Read With Max! Childrens Book “Dogs Work Too!” A Story About Leader Dogs for the Blind” has been selected to compete in the 2011 Peoples Telly Award. This competition is conducted online at the Official Telly Awards YouTube website. Voting started Monday, March 28th and continues for 4 weeks, so you still have lots of chances to vote for Max! Click On The Telly Awards Image To Give Us A “Thumbs Up” And Cast Your Vote!
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOUT LEADER DOGS FOR THE BLIND!

And here’s some great news! There is a contest for 2 $50 Visa gift cards!! One of you could be the winner! All you have to do is follow the blog tour…each day’s post has a word at the end. If you put all of the words together, it will make a sentence and the first one to post on Max’s blog with the whole sentence is the winner! So get busy and check out every blog stop (even the ones you might have missed) and get the word for the day. You can get the whole schedule list here.

THAT’S RIGHT…ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS FOLLOW THE BLOG TOUR AND YOU COULD WIN $50! So here are the instructions again:

Follow the tour and win a $50.00 Cash Gift Card Prize!

The tour will stop at a new site each day. Each site will display a “MAX” WORD OF THE DAY. Collect “Max’s Word” each day and complete the long sentence from Max by the end of the tour! My blog is the 14th stop on the tour, so word number 14 in the long sentence is: THEIR.

At the end of the tour on May 4th, be one of the first two people to post the sentence on:

Read With Max Blog Site

Winners will have to correctly write the entire sentence to qualify. So the word from today is: THEIR

For the full tour list, please go to Blog Book Tour.

Thank you so much for visiting today…I know Max and his partner, Anthony Majewski appreciate your interest and support. Don’t forget to view the YouTube video and give a thumbs up for Max!

If you have the time, please stop by my website: www.positiveparentalparticipation.com where there is a new special going on in honor of the 40th anniversary of the NAEYC’s The Week of the Young Child…April 10th through April 16 which focuses public attention on the needs of young children and their families.