Cinema Sunday: PULL THE PLUG FOR CCFC’s SCREEN-FREE WEEK

Posted on April 17, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Image via Wikipedia

Usually on Sundays, I review a movie that I feel others might find enjoyable. But today, I’m devoting my post to informing you about Screen-Free Week.

From April 18 – April 24, thousands (or maybe hundreds of thousands) of families across the country will be pulling the plug of their TV sets and computers in honor of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood’s SCREEN-FREE WEEK. Families can participate by turning off their TV’s and computers for entertainment and turning on to other activities.

What a fantastic idea!

Please don’t get me wrong…there definitely are some great programs on TV for adults and children…many of those can be found on your local PBS stations.

But no child should spend too much time in front of the television or computer screen, no matter how educational or valuable the show is.

How can your family benefit by taking part in this week-long event?

More family time together. “To be in your children’s memories tomorrow, you need to be in their lives today.” Sit down together and plan a family trip. As a family, go through those photos that have been piling up and put together a family album. Play board games or charades.
More time to go outside. With the obesity rate climbing in this country, both adults and children will benefit from outdoor exercise such as walking, hiking or other outdoor activities.

More time for reading, crafting and cooking with your children. If you need some ideas, please check out my book for parents of preschoolers which is an excellent resource. It highlights 100 picture books every young child should hear and provides an eco-friendly craft project and a child-friendly healthful recipe for each recommended story. And, if you have older children, how about having them participate by reading the story to their younger brothers and sisters and then assist with the craft and cooking activities.

For more information on this event and other family activities, you can go to the website of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood: http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/screenfreeweek/

They have lots of other ideas of what you can do when you turn off your screens.

Earth Day 2011: Preserve, Protect, Promote…How Parents and Their Preschoolers Can Participate

Posted on April 16, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Image via Wikipedia

Have you noticed how much your preschooler wants to be like you?

Look over at your child while you are engaged in some activity like reading, talking on the phone or even cleaning the house.

More often than not, you will see your preschooler mimicking you…the book may be upside down and the imaginary phone conversation may be on a toy…but emulating parents is what young children love to do.

With Earth Day 2011 quickly approaching (Friday, April 22), here are seven simple steps that parents can take to preserve the planet for future generations, protect our natural resources and promote environmental awareness with their preschoolers.

1. Buy gently used clothing and toys at consignment shops or places like Goodwill and donate your child’s gently used items as well. This cycle of recycling really helps.

2. Use homemade natural solutions to clean your home. They are better for your family and better for the planet. Here are a couple of links where you can find great “recipes” and other tips: http://housekeeping.about.com/cs/environment/a/alternateclean.htm, http://www.ehow.com/about_4777601_natural-homemade-cleaning-products.html, http://organizedhome.com/clean-house/pantry-recipes-homemade-cleaning-products. Happy cleaning!!!

3. Walk; don’t drive, to local destinations, if possible, like the store or the library.

4. Spend the day at a local park…bring a picnic lunch, gloves and a big garbage bag. Walk around and have your child help you pick up any garbage you find.

5. Bring your own bags when you shop…you might want to get smaller reusable bags for your young children so that they can help carry groceries in a more responsible way.

6. Buy local. I realize it is not always possible or feasible to buy organic, locally-grown or produced food. However, this not only benefits your family, but also the planet. The carbon footprint left by foods that are flown or trucked across the country is huge…and buying locally helps the growers and manufacturers who must compete with the large corporations. The nutritional benefits to your family include not having to worry about artificial colors, preservatives and genetically modified foods. If you are looking for healthful recipes, my book for parents of preschoolers, Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking, includes 100 easy child-friendly cooking activities, as well as 100 simple eco-friendly craft projects.

7. Buy in bulk with as little packaging as possible. Many stores now have a special section where they offer a wide selection of foods that can be purchased by the pound or less. The price is usually significantly cheaper than buying the product in a box with a name brand listed on the front.

Seven simple steps…if you only do a few, you will be making an important contribution to the preservation of our planet for future generations.

Seven simple steps…if you allow your children to participate with you, you will be encouraging them to protect our natural resources.

Seven simple steps…if we all follow them, we promote environmental awareness and the well-being of the world.

You can “like” b-kind-2-earth-day and go here for more information about what lots of other people are doing: http://www.facebook.com/BKind2EarthDay/posts/139097546162617#!/BKind2EarthDay

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?