Tag Archives: children

Sunday Post: Wonderful…Show Me How Picture Books and Crafts for Kids on YouTube

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Jake at Time after Time has a Sunday Post Challenge and every week he provides a theme…this week’s theme is WONDERFUL.

Sharing a WONDERFUL picture book with a WONDERFUL group of children is a WONDERFULLY magical experience.

Cuddling with a WONDERFUL child and reading a WONDERFUL picture book provides a never-to-be-forgotten WONDERFUL experience for both reader and listener.

November is children’s author Dianne de Las Casas Picture Book Month…a time to celebrate the importance and WONDER of picture books in the lives of young children.

So this past Sunday was a WONDERFUL time to kick off my new Google+/YouTube series: Show Me How: Picture Books and Crafts for Kids.

http://youtu.be/8hqUZBSSMN8

I’d love to know what you think of it…and welcome suggestions that will help it be better!

I plan to present a different story and craft each week.  I had a lot of fun and I am hoping to provide a quick and easy fun-filled educational self-esteem building activity for parents to do with their kids.  Most of the stories and crafts I will use come from my award-winning book, Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking. 

I just checked the Amazon site for the book and there are three sellers who are offering the book USED for $60+…we are selling the brand-new copy, signed (and inscribed for the holidays if you wish) for just $19.95 on Amazon.  I think that is pretty WONDERFUL!

Parenting is a difficult job…and many parents these days are overwhelmed and tired.

But just 15 minutes a day is enough time to read a picture book story.

And just 15 minutes a day is enough time to do a quick and easy craft project.

In fact, the entire video with both story AND craft is just 12 minutes.

Do you have 12 minutes to give to your child?  Do you read to your child every day?

Now THAT would be WONDERFUL!

Want more information about Jake’s Sunday Post?

http://jakesprinters.wordpress.com/

By the way, I had to reinstall the flag counter on my right sidebar and start from zero…something strange happened a couple of weeks ago and the flag counter (with over 110 flags and over 14,000 page views) disappeared, along with my blogroll and a bunch of ‘buttons’ I had from blogs I follow.  You’ve gotta love computers, right?

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PPBF: Fire Prevention Week Special: The Adventures of Lucy Snigglefritz

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Today is Perfect Picture Book Friday where I link up with Susanna Leonard Hill’s fantastic group of picture book writers, illustrators, librarians and others who contribute a picture book review.

October is a month that is jam-packed with great events.

Has your child decided on a costume for Halloween yet?

Will it be store-bought or home-made?

Fire Prevention Week is another important October event.

When I was a little girl, we lived on the seventh floor of an apartment house…I can remember my parents doing fire safety drills with me and my older sister…what to do if there was a fire and where we would meet if we got separated.  Even though parents need to practice what to do in case of disasters, it’s important to reassure children that, no matter what happens, there will always be someone to take care of them.

To help celebrate Fire Prevention Week, I’m spotlighting a book by children’s author Patrick Milne…he was part of Susanna Leonard Hill’s mini-series on self-publishing several months ago.

The Adventures of Lucy Snigglefritz

Written by Patrick Milne

Illustrated by Stephanie Faye

Publisher: Fayemous Books

Ages: 4 and up

Themes:

Believing in yourself, courage, determination, fire-fighting

Synopsis:

From Amazon: Lucy Snigglefritz, world-famous circus dog, is the star attraction of Amazing Avido’s Circus. But when ticket sales slump, Lucy is left behind by the circus to fend for herself.
On her own for the first time, Lucy sets out on a new adventure.
What can a circus dog do without a circus?
Maybe Sooty, a Dalmatian at the local firehall, will have the answer…
Why do I like this book: 

  • Wonderfully engaging main character that young kids can relate to.
  • Brilliant illustrations that truly tell the story.
  • Great text that entertains AND provides a lesson in believing in oneself.

It’s fun to find out a little bit about how a picture book is born.  The author has graciously shared a little bit about his writing journey and how “Lucy Snigglefritz” came to be!

I asked Patrick to talk about the main character and her challenge in this story.

“Lucy’s a dog that’s grown up in the circus. It’s all she knows. Though she’s very famous early on, as she gets bigger and older, her popularity wanes, and her boss, Avido Padrone fires her in favor of a newer, younger, cuter dog. The first book explores how Lucy picks herself up and figures out what’s next for her. “

One of the really interesting things is that the author worked with his sister during the entire process…she is the illustrator!

“This was my first time writing a children’s story so the whole process was pretty trial and error. The words came first and then Stephanie and I separated them onto different sheets using 32 pages as our template. Once we were happy with how the story read, we started to brainstorm illustrations. Now, for Lucy 2, which we’re currently working on, I’ve written the words and included some ideas for illustrations. If she wants to use them, fantastic. If not, I’ll try not to be too hurt.”

Patrick, I love the educational angle to your books…can you share that?

“The educational concept behind Lucy is that each story revolves around her meeting a breed of dog that’s suited to a certain job. In Book 1, she met Sooty the Dalmatian and found out why dalmatians make such good fire dogs. In Book 2, we explore why poodles make such good show dogs, so there is a strong educational angle. I learn a lot when I research for each one.

The second concept is one that revolves around self-confidence and self-belief. It’s the series arc and we explore this in more detail with each book as Lucy meets new characters, experiences a new life beyond the circus, and gradually finds out she’s good at a lot more things than just jumping through fiery hoops.

Where can readers find your book?

It’s currently available on Amazon for the Kindle right here. We’re working on getting it into other online stores. An iBook version is coming with different interactive parts but that’s a ways off yet.

Print copies of the book are also available at select stores….you can find out here.

I want to thank Patrick so very much for letting me share “The Adventures of Lucy Snigglefritz”…we eagerly await the next book in the series!

Related Activities:

FIRE SAFETY DOOR HANGER

Photo from Easy Kids Crafts

In an emergency, people often panic and forget the simplest things.  Why not make a door hanger for your child’s doorknob…with important phone numbers and information on the back side…911 and perhaps a close family member and also a nearby neighbor whom your child can call upon for help. 

You will need: 1 piece of heavy-weight construction paper (or card stock), 1 piece of white paper, markers, glue and scissors.

  1. Cut the construction paper in a rectangle and then cut out a circle near the top.
  2. Decorate one side with fire-fighting pictures (you can cut these out from magazines and paste them on or draw them with markers or crayons).
  3. Cut a sheet of white paper to fit the back side and glue in place.
  4. Write important phone numbers with the name of two or three of the people your child will feel comfortable and safe with…putting a photo of the person next to their phone number will help very young children identify who it is.
  5. Hang on your child’s doorknob!

Lots more fire prevention week crafts here.

Do a fire safety drill once a month.   The theme of this year’s Fire Prevention Week is “Two Ways Out”.  Do you have two exits from every room in your house?

Lots of activities for kids (and maybe some prizes) here.

This post is part of a series for parents and teachers called Perfect Picture Book Fridays hosted by Susanna Leonard Hill.  Click on her link and find lots of other picture book suggestions with summaries and activities.

This is an unbelievable resource for any parent, teacher or children’s librarian.

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PPBF: Swimmy…Group Dynamics with an Awesome Upstander

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Today is Perfect Picture Book Friday where I link up with Susanna Leonard Hill’s fantastic group of picture book writers, illustrators, librarians and others who contribute a picture book review and related resources for parents, teachers and children.

Before we begin the picture book review, here are some IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1.      The Show-Me-How School Initiative is still looking for A FEW GOOD SCHOOLS.   We only have a couple of days left for you to leave a comment on this post, telling which school or other child-care facility you would like to nominate to receive a free copy of Show Me How!  In the first week of October, we will pick 12 lucky schools via Random.org

2.      Show Me How! has received another lovely review…this time from Beth Stilborn, fellow 12x12er, and PPBF participant.  If you’d like to see what Beth had to say about it, please click this link.  If you’ve never been to her blog, By Word of Beth, hurry over…you’ll be glad you did…her posts are funny, informative and not-to-be-missed!

3.      Earlier this year I connected with a children’s author in Singapore, Emily Lim.  It was just before their big Asian Festival of Children’s Content, where kidlit publishers, editors, writers, illustrators, educators and all who are involved in helping kids become loves of books and reading meet for conferences, workshops and fun.  As Emily and I chatted via email, she mentioned that she wished I could be part of the conference.  I couldn’t believe my eyes when I opened my email yesterday morning and saw an invitation from her (she is on the Children’s Writers and Illustrators Conference Committee) to speak at the conference!  What a great honor…I don’t know if I will be able to attend…but I hope we can work it out.

Is it Perfect Picture Book Friday yet?

You’ve all been so patient…so to reward you, you will be getting TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE!

October is National Bully Prevention Month!  I’ll be highlighting some amazing books and other resources for the next four weeks.

 I’ll share my picture book choice in a minute, but first I’m thrilled to tell you about a new anti-bullying app: AWESOME UPSTANDER.  Here’s the link: http://www.awesomeupstander.com

 

Did you know that 13 MILLION kids…over one-third of all school-age children, are bullied every year?

Awesome Upstander, developed by HealthTeacher:

  • Empowers children to take action
  • Reinforces positive respectful behaviors
  • Teaches children to intervene by getting help from adults
  • Emphasizes group dynamics
  • Shows kids how to gather a group together to counteract the bully’s plan
  • Encourages kids to help when they see bullying

I encourage anyone who is involved with kids to visit the website at http://www.awesomeupstander.com.  There are free downloadable info sheets for parents and teachers that address positive action plans for kids and adults.  You can follow Awesome Upstander on Twitter or on Facebook.  You can also purchase the download for iTunes or Android.

The game identifies the participants to a bullying problem…the bully, the target and the bystanders.  The key to the game (and perhaps an important key to putting an end to bullying in real life) is to turn the bystanders into ‘Awesome Upstanders”…people who get actively involved to help the target or victim and stop the bullying.

This concept of group dynamics brings me to…FINALLY…my Perfect Picture Book Friday pick.

 

SWIMMY

Written and illustrated by Leo Lionni

Publisher: DragonFly Books (1973)

Ages: 4 and up

Themes:

Bullying, helping others, overcoming fears, self-esteem, creative thinking, cooperation

Synopsis:  

From the Amazon website: “Deep in the sea there lives a happy school of little fish. Their watery world is full of wonders, but there is also danger, and the little fish are afraid to come out of hiding . . . until Swimmy comes along. Swimmy shows his friends how—with ingenuity and team work—they can overcome any danger.”

Why do I like this book: 

Let me count the reasons:

1.      Written by one of my favorite author/illustratos, Leo Lioni

2.      Winner of a Caldecott Honor Award

3.      Amazing illustrations of the underwater world

4.      Teaches the power of positive group dynamics

5.      Encourages creative thinking and problem solving

Related Activities:

Watercolor Wash Picture

Photo from artsmarts4kids.blogspot.com

You will need: 1 piece of construction paper, crayons or markers, blue food coloring and a brush.

1.      After reading the story, let your child draw a picture depicting his favorite underwater scene.

2.      Mix a drop or two of blue food coloring (you can use non-toxic blue watercolor paint) with some water.

3.      Your child can brush the watercolor wash over the entire picture…when it dries, it will have an underwater look to it.

4.      Hang it up in a place of honor in the house!

You can also make a fish mobile…with a bunch of little red fish and one little black fish.

More simple under-the-ocean activities from : http://artsmarts4kids.blogspot.com/2008/10/draw-your-own-underwater-scene.html

Great arts and crafts activities from eHow here: http://www.ehow.com/list_6729112_underwater-art-activities.html

Some parent/teacher materials on Scholastic here: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/swimmy

 

This post is part of a series for parents and teachers called Perfect Picture Book Fridays hosted by Susanna Leonard Hill.  Click on her link and find lots of other picture book suggestions with summaries and activities.   This is an unbelievable resource for any parent, teacher or children’s librarian.

Related posts;

http://beunltd.com/2012/09/28/boys-being-boys/