World Read-Aloud Day: Tips on Reading Aloud to Young Children

Posted on March 6, 2013 by viviankirkfield

When children love books and reading, they do better in school and live happier lives.

One of the best ways to accomplish this goal is to read aloud to infants, toddlers and preschoolers.

Parents can read anything aloud to their little ones…but some books are better than others.

Author and educator Susan Marx wrote a practical guide for reading aloud to young children.

Help Me Get Ready To Read is chockfull of great picture book suggestions and parenting tips.

Susan wrote a poem that uses the titles of the stories that are recommended in her book…just in time for World Read Aloud Day.

The name of the poem is Bedtime Rhyme and the titles of favorite read-aloud books for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers are shown in italics.

Information about the books as well as parenting strategies and reading strategies to read aloud effectively are provided in “Help Me Get Ready To Read: The Practical Guide For Reading Aloud To Children During Their First Five Years” by Susan Marx and Barbara Kasok. (www.readaloudguide.com)

Bedtime Rhyme

by Susan Marx

Let’s read a book Together to settle you down,

Time for Bed in your cozy jammies or nightgown.

Sleep time for you and Dino-Pets that watch you grow,

Count along with me Ten, Nine, Eight and Off We Go!

Little one you might ask Where to Sleep?

For sure not with those Sheep in a Jeep.

Duck! Rabbit! Here’s a Kiss Kiss from Little Mo,

Stop your Dancing Feet, be still From Head To Toe.

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed go Bumpety Bump on the floor,

OH! The Runaway Bunny calls for help from Sammy and the Dinosaur.

Chicken Bedtime is Really Early honks Blue Goose,

Mommies Say Shhh! to the Mother Goose on the Loose.

Here Comes the Night so quietly listen as Bear Snores On,

No more coloring for Harold and the Purple Crayon.

Good night to the dog in Whistle for Willie,

And good neigh to the horse in Silly Tilly.

Time To Say Goodnight to Corduroy, Miss Mary Mack, and Maisy,

Goodnight Moon, Noisy Nora, Olivia, and Titch and Daisy.

Good-night Owl and Good Night Gorilla in the Firehouse,

Sweet dreams to the teeny weeny Busy, Busy Mouse.

Hush Little Baby soon the sun will say Hello Day,

That’s the time when your book buddy Millie Wants to Play!

Soon Milton the Early Riser will head Down By the Bay,

Carrying his Umbrella on a Soggy Saturday.

Look up and down Brown Bear, Bear Brown, What Do You See?

Close Your Eyes to find A Rainbow All Around Me.

It’s Time To go to sleep as I sing a Lucky Song,

All the World will wait patiently for you all night long.

Thanks so much, Susan, for sharing this with us.

To find out more about Susan Marx and her wonderful read-aloud programs, you can visit her here:

Website: http://www.readaloudguide.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com

BEDTIME IS A WONDERFUL TIME TO READ ALOUD TO CHILDREN…BUT IT’S NOT THE ONLY TIME.

1. ON CAR RIDES

2. AT THE DOCTOR’S OFFICE

3. WAITING ON LINE AT THE GROCERY STORE

4. AT THE LIBRARY

5. ON A PICNIC

WHEN DO YOU READ ALOUD TO YOUR KIDS?

Need more picture book read aloud suggestions Please check out my book on Amazon

Best Bedtime Books to Read Aloud (pragmaticmom.com)
Pam Allyn: World Read Aloud Day: Building a Worldwide Literacy Community (huffingtonpost.com)
8 Great Reasons to Read Aloud (faithfulprovisions.com)
How Dogs Can Boost Children’s Reading Skills (everydayhealth.com)
Sighs and settees: recovering the lost history of reading aloud in the eighteenth century (ihrprojects.wordpress.com)
In praise of reading aloud (and some tips for the fearful) (weeklyblogclub.wordpress.com)
http://www.readalouddad.com/2011/03/reading-aloud-wont-make-you-thinner-but.html

Sunday Post: Goals…and the Writer’s Desk Competition

Posted on January 13, 2013 by viviankirkfield

Jake at Time after Time has a Sunday Post Challenge and every week he provides a theme…the past week’s theme was GOALS.

Did you set goals for 2013?

I did! If you click here, you’ll see that many of them involve writing.

When Nancy at Spirit Lights the Way issued a “Writer’s Desk” challenge, I knew I had to participate.

Nancy says:

“ Write a short essay or poem (between 33 and 100 words) about your writing desk, your writing rituals, why you write, how you write, how you stop writing, or . . . surprise us with a tantalizing tidbit about your writing life.”

For all of the rules, please click on this link. There is still time to join the fun…deadline is January 25.

I used to have a room that doubled as both an office for me and a guest room…it looked something like this:

Then, my husband retired and discovered the world of watercolor painting. I gave him that room to use as his studio and now it looks like this:

So I do most of my writing at the dining room table…and for me, fortunately, writing has very little to do with location, location, location and very much to do with motivation, inspiration and perspiration.

I WRITE, THEREFORE I AM by Vivian Kirkfield

A writing space by any name does serve me well.

By lamplight or with sunlight streaming

Ideas flourish while I’m dreaming.

From mind to pen words quickly teeming

Pages fill with stories beaming.

In quiet or with children screaming

Cluttered desk or table gleaming

I’ve found my heaven…not to write would be my hell.

Do you write? What inspires you? Check out the Writer’s Desk Competition and join in.

Want more information about Jake’s Sunday Post?

http://jakesprinters.wordpress.com/

Extra Post: The Writer’s Desk (kateshrewsday.com)

What’s In Your Child’s Bookcase Wordy Wednesday: FREDERICK

Posted on April 6, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Image by Sergey Yeliseev via Flickr

One of my favorite children’s picture book authors and illustrators is Leo Lionni.

His stories get to the heart of the challenges and concerns that young children face and his bold yet simple illustrations bring his characters to life.

FREDERICK is one of the four books that are part of the SHOW ME HOW Story-time Program at the local schools here in Colorado Springs. Each time I’ve read the story, the kindergarten and Pre-K children are eager to listen and then discuss the events in the book and relate them to their own lives.

FREDERICK

Written and illustrated by Leo Lionni

During the fall, a mouse family scurries around to collect seeds and nuts for the winter. One mouse, however, does not seem to be doing anything except daydreaming. Frederick explains that he is collecting sunshine, colors and words…but his family believe he is just trying to avoid the hard work. When winter comes and the long cold days and nights seem endless, Frederick entertains his family and lifts their spirits by reciting the poetry he composed while the other mice were collecting seeds and nuts.

Each one of us has special gifts and, as parents, we need to recognize and encourage our children’s strengths and talents. Sometimes this is very difficult, especially if your child does not enjoy doing what the rest of the family likes to do.

For example, most of the members of a family might love participating in all kinds of sporting activities, but one child in the family does not, preferring to draw or play a musical instrument. In a situation like this, it is even more essential for the parents to provide opportunities for that child to develop his own gifts and pursue his particular interests.

Just 15 minutes a day, reading a picture book story, will help build YOUR child’s self-esteem, develop pre-literacy skills and create a life-long parent-child bond. If you are looking for a resource that will make choosing a picture book a snap, please visit my website where you can purchase a copy of SHOW ME HOW! The book has just received the KIDLUTIONS PREFERRED PRODUCT AWARD: http://kidlutionsppa.blogspot.com/2011/04/show-me-how-build-your-childs-self.html and, as you can imagine, I am thrilled!

I’ll be at the Covered Treasures Bookstore in Monument, CO on Sunday, April 10^th from 2-3:30 and I hope everyone local to that area will stop in to say hello! There will be a Book Fair and book signing which benefits the Tri-Lakes Community Preschool Tuition Assistance Program and if you need any details, you can go to www.coveredtreasures.com. Come on over and spend a lovely afternoon in Monument and support early childhood education!

Another reminder…Tuesday, April 12^th, my blog will be hosting the book blog tour of Max, the Dog. You can visit http://readwithmax.com/blogbooktour.html for information about where Max has already been and where he will be going for the next few weeks. There are prizes to be won for those who follow the tour so please check it out.