Cinema Sundays: My Picks of Great Flicks: Academy Awards Special Edition

Posted on February 27, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Classic Photo from 1937 Academy Awards at the ...

Image by ExperienceLA via Flickr

Tonight many people will be glued in front of their televisions, watching the Academy Awards presentation.

All across the country (and probably in other parts of the world), there will be Oscar-night parties and other celebrations to honor the winners (and losers…how can they be “losers” if those nominated were among the top 5 of all actors, actresses, movies, etc. for the entire year?).

My husband and I don’t go to the movies very often.

We actually LOVE watching movies, but don’t like the cost and inconvenience of going OUT to the movies.

So we got most of our movies for free from our local library or for $1 from Red box vending machines.:)

This past week, for President’s Day, I’ve written several posts that examine HONESTY, and how it relates to parenting.

So, my movie pick for today is GET LOW with Robert Duvall, Bill Cobbs, Sissy Spacek and Bill Murray. Although not one of the Academy Award nominees in any category, it’s a film well worth your time.

The movie examines the life of a man who has a secret he has kept to himself for many years. He takes up the life of a hermit and finally connects with the world only because he wants to arrange a “funeral party”, inviting EVERYONE and ANYONE who has a story to tell about him…but his real reason is that he knows he is going to die soon and wants to reveal the truth…so that he can rest easy.

Look at the word DISEASE…it’s made up of two parts: DIS (meaning not) and EASE (meaning at rest or at peace or functioning smoothly).

When we are not at peace, we are much more prone to getting sick.

Children start out in life being innocent and honest and forthright. Some begin to practice deception and dishonesty because they learn that when you tell the truth, if the truth is something unpleasant, you will likely get into trouble.

One of the cornerstones of Positive Parental Participation is listening to our children without judgment. Please don’t think this means that children don’t have to be responsible for their actions. A second cornerstone of this parenting approach is to consistently expect children to accept the consequences for what they do.

The gentle parenting tips included on every other page of SHOW ME HOW! BUILD YOUR CHILD’S SELF-ESTEEM THROUGH READING, CRAFTING AND COOKING are one of the coolest parts of the book. Do you worry that your children will not grow up the way you want them to? Are you concerned that peer pressure may influence your children to misbehave or stray off the path you would have them follow?

Use the book with your child for just 15 minutes a day and you will be amazed at the positive results! Head over to my website and grab a copy for half-price…only $22.50!

What will you get for $22.50?

100 story summaries of picture books your child needs to hear.
100 simple eco-friendly craft projects you and your child will enjoy doing.
100 child-friendly healthful recipes you and your child will have fun preparing together.
100 gentle parenting tips that will inspire you and give you confidence in your own parenting abilities.
365-day money-back guarantee.

Children grown and don’t need a copy for yourself? Pick one up as a super Mother’s Day gift for a new mom, working mom of preschoolers, homeschooling mom or dad or as a great gift for someone you know who is a preschool teacher, daycare provider, babysitter or nanny. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to spend this special time with your young children…even if it is just 15 minutes a day.

Please stop by tomorrow for Make-A-Meal Mondays!

15 Minutes a Day: Do You Care Enough?

Posted on February 25, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Image by George Eastman House via Flickr

When I was young, I wanted to become a teacher.

I believed I could help children step confidently onto the path to a successful and happy life.

I cared enough about reaching that goal to study hard in school so that I could graduate and then pass the licensing exam.

As a kindergarten teacher, I cared enough about my pupils to spend many hours after school, choosing the best books to read to them and creating projects for them to work on.

As a parent, I cared enough about my own children to listen when they had something to say and to talk when they needed to hear me.

As a daycare provider, I cared enough about the children in my group to devise a program that provided a balanced and harmonious day of indoor and outdoor activities.

As an author, I cared enough about the future of today’s children to write a book that provides a winning combination of picture book story recommendations, simple craft projects and easy cooking activities that work together to build a positive self-image, develop pre-literacy skills and create a life-long parent-child bond.

That book is now available!

You can grab a copy at half-price on my website!

The question is…DO YOU CARE ENOUGH?

I care enough about the future of today’s children to offer parents and teachers a ONE YEAR MONEY-BACK guarantee!

Buy a copy of the book and use it for 15 minutes a day for a whole year.

If, after using it for a year, you don’t feel it:

Helped build your child’s self-esteem
Developed your child’s pre-literacy skills
Created a positive bond between you and your child

Please return it to me for a FULL REFUND!

Do you care enough about the future of your child?

Go to my website
Buy the book
Use it for at least 15 minutes on a daily basis

I know that being a parent can often be overwhelming.

There are bills to pay, laundry to do and dishes to wash.

Many of you have jobs outside the home as well.

Parents today practice a juggling act…trying to balance so many things.

But your responsibility to your children has top priority.

Do you care enough about the future of your child?

Buy a copy of the book and use it for 15 minutes a day.

The schools and society are often blamed when children are led astray.

But we, as parents, are the first influencers of our children.

We, as parents, are their original mentors.

Do you care enough about the future of your child to get a copy of the book and use it for 15 minutes a day?

Read one of the suggested stories and talk about it with your child…that takes only 15 minutes.

Get some construction paper, glue, scissors, an old magazine and some crayons and make one of the simple craft projects…that takes only 15 minutes.

Let your child help you prepare one of the easy healthful recipes…that takes only 15 minutes.

How important is your child to you?

Important enough to invest 15 minutes a day?

Here is a chance for you to help your child grow up to be successful in life…a person with a positive self-image.

But you have to be willing to invest the time.

Just 15 minutes a day

Use the book and see noticeable results.

But the key is in using the book.

Many products come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

I care enough about YOUR child to give you a 365-day money-back guarantee.

Do YOU care enough to give it a try?

Please stop by tomorrow…I’ll be sharing some of the comments from parents, educators, self-esteem experts and picture book authors who have already read the book.

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

Make-A-Meal Mondays: President’s Day Special

Posted on February 21, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Image via Wikipedia

Every four years, the citizens of the United States have the opportunity to choose a new president who will hopefully lead the country on an upward path of economic and social reform, while staying within the budget.

Every day, three times each day, moms (and sometimes dads) have the opportunity to choose a new dish to serve to their families that will hopefully provide good nutrition and good taste, while staying within the budget.

Hmmm…have you also seen the similarity between running the country and running a household? 🙂

It is true, though, that the responsibility of putting high quality, highly nutritious¸ good-tasting, affordable meals on the table is a heavy one. I thought that since today is President’s Day, I should offer up a recipe that includes CHERRIES as one of the ingredients.

Why cherries you might ask?

I’m sure most of you know the story of our first president, George Washington, and the incident with the cherry tree. As it was told when I was in school, young George went out into the garden with a new hatchet and chopped down a young cherry tree. When questioned by his father as to whether or not he did it, George replied, “I cannot tell a lie. It was I who chopped down the cherry tree.” His father, impressed with his young son’s honesty, did not punish him, but praised him for telling the truth.

Of course, the moral of the little tale is that we should always tell the truth…no matter what we have done or what the consequences of our actions might be. I know this is what we teach our children…and this week I’ll be examining the topic of honesty in many of my posts. And, if you are looking for any information or resources about President’s Day, hop over to Mirth and Motivation. The author of that blog is the consummate researcher…a great writer and funny to boot! And she is having a Mega-Blog Hop…if you join, you will meet a bunch of awesome bloggers!

But for now, I’d like to provide you with a recipe for lovely child-friendly fruit crisp…full of super foods…and with the option of using cherries (sometimes they are available only in season and can be quite expensive) or substituting other fruits.

CHILD-FRIENDLY COLORFUL FRUIT CRISP

You will need: 5 cups mixed fruit, washed and then sliced if necessary (peaches, plums, apricots, strawberries, blueberries, cherries, apples), ¼ cup white sugar, ¼ cup orange juice, 1 tsp lemon juice, 3 Tb flour (for the fruit), ¼ cup flour (for the topping), 2 cups rolled oats, ¼ cup brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, ¼ cup healthy margarine softened, a greased 9×13 inch pan, and 2 large bowls.

1. In a large bowl, gently toss fruit with white sugar, orange juice and lemon juice.

2. Sprinkle with 3 Tb flour, toss gently again and spread in the greased pan.

3. In another bowl, mix oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and the remaining flour.

4. Add the margarine and mix till crumbly.

5. Sprinkle crumbly mixture over fruit.

6. Bake 20-25 minutes at 375 degrees until fruit is tender and topping is golden brown.

7. Serve warm or at room temperature.

8. Store leftovers in a covered container in the fridge.

9. Serves about 12.

This recipe has so many super foods: oats, orange juice, lemon juice, cinnamon and all of the fruits…even though it is a dessert, you can rest easy giving it to your family because it is so high in nutrition and fiber while being fairly low in added sugar and fat. Plus, it is really simple to prepare…your young children will love to help with the measuring and mixing. It’s only one of the 100 easy-to-make child-friendly healthful recipes you’ll find in my new parenting book, on sale now for a limited time on my website for half price! Check it out…I think you’ll be glad you did…it takes the hassle out of planning activities with preschoolers.

I hope you’ll stop by tomorrow for Quotable Timeless Tuesdays…for an honest look at honesty.