Saturday Ramblings: Building a Life-Long Bond With Your Children

Posted on April 2, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Today I am going fly-fishing with my husband and one of our grown sons. Peter flew in yesterday from Chicago to spend the weekend with us. I know we will have an awesome time…Eleven Mile Canyon is a magical spot and we are blessed to live only an hour away.

I picked Peter up at the airport…the hug he gave me was straight from the heart. We drove to a little Vietnamese restaurant in downtown Colorado Springs because Peter knows I love to try new foods and had never had Vietnamese food before. Dinner was DELICIOUS…and my dinner companion was all a mother could ask for.

In order to be in your children’s memories tomorrow, you need to be in their life today.

Believe me…I know what it is like to be a mom of several children with a home, husband and job. It truly gets overwhelming at times. But spending time with your young children is so very important.

Just 15 minutes a day is enough time to read a picture book.

Just 15 minutes a day is enough time to do a simple craft project together.

Just 15 minutes a day is enough time to participate together in the kitchen.

Parents are busy today…that’s why I wrote SHOW ME HOW! BUILD YOUR CHILD’S SELF-ESTEEM THROUGH READING, CRAFTING AND COOKING. This unique resource is a shortcut for parents and teachers and provides story summaries of 100 picture books every young child should hear along with an easy craft project and a simple recipe for each recommended title. And right now, until April 9^th, the book is on sale for 50% off the cover price! Please visit my website to purchase and for details on the prize you can win for your preschooler.

Attention anyone local to Monument, CO…The Covered Treasures Bookstore is hosting a Book Fair to benefit the Tri-Lakes Community Preschool Tuition Assistance Program on Sunday, April 10th at 12-4pm…come on out for a wonderful day in Monument and get to meet and greet three local authors who will be signing their books. I’ll be there from 2-3:30pm. A portion of all proceeds will go to Tri-Lakes Community Preschool and I’m offering several raffle prizes. For more information: www.coveredtreasures.com

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

Posted on April 1, 2011 by viviankirkfield

: Image via Wikipedia

When I introduced the SHOW ME HOW Story-time Program to District 11, I had no idea how popular it would be.

But I guess when you combine picture books and young children and craft activities, you are bound to get positive results!

Yesterday morning found me at Edison School…just three minutes from my house. It was easy to find because I’d been there before…not to read or craft, but to vote. 🙂

The kindergarten children in Ms. Gustafson’s class were eager to hear about Frederick, the little mouse whose family is preparing for the winter by collecting corn, straw, wheat and nuts. Although it looks like Frederick is sleeping most of the time, he tells his family that he is busy…gathering the sun’s rays, colors and words. When winter comes and the mice have eaten most of the food and are cold and hungry, Frederick offers up the supplies he brought and warms his family with his words about the sun’s golden rays and brightens the gray winter day by talking about the colors of the flowers in the spring.

I was so impressed with the children’s level of attention…smiling faces and raised hands greeted every question I asked as we discussed the difference between the supplies Frederick gathered and those his family brought. They understood that even though food and shelter were important, the beauty that Frederick supplied was necessary for life also.

After the story and discussion, the children moved to their tables where they worked on creating a colorful flower picture. Many of the children added their own touches…some drew Frederick and his family…one boy raised the edges of the construction paper flowers so that they had depth, just like real flowers do.

I was touched when one student wanted to give me his picture to take home with me…what an honor! However, the teacher was going to hang all of the pictures on the wall outside the classroom, so I thanked him and told him that I would be able to enjoy seeing it again the next time I visited Edison School.

As the children put the finishing touches on their pictures, I thanked them for having me, said goodbye and walked down the hall to the other kindergarten where 15 smiling children waited to greet me and hear all about Frederick.

Based on my book for parents of preschoolers, the SHOW ME HOW Story-time Program helps encourage young children in school to become readers and lovers of books. If you’d like to have this unique resource available to you and your child, please visit my website where you can purchase a copy at 50% off the cover price. For just $22.50, you will have 100 story summaries, 100 simple craft projects and 100 easy healthful cooking activities right at your fingertips! And you can enter to win a selection of craft supplies for your preschooler.

I’m looking forward to April 12^th when this blog will be a stop on the book blog tour of Max the Dog Who Works. He is also in the People Telly Awards competition and the following is a message from him about a youtube video he made:

This competition and the People Telly Awards are chosen specifically by online voters. We are seeking your help to share and gain as many votes as possible to show support for Leader Dogs for the Blind. To vote, please visit the Link provided below and rate it using the ever famous thumbs up system. Videos that earn the most thumbs up win!

The more people you share this link with, the greater the chance of earning recognition for Leader Dogs.

Visit: http://www.youtube.com/tellyawards?x=TNRiC8lMBoU to cast your vote

Hugs and Licks:Max!

Leader Dogs for the Blind…a very worthwhile organization…please give your support by watching the video and voting for Max!

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

Posted on March 12, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Work with schools : a librarian's assistant te...

Image by New York Public Library via Flickr

Yesterday was a GREAT day!

Taylor School in Colorado Springs is a tucked away in a lovely residential neighborhood.

As you enter the school, you hear the low hum of children, busy at their appointed tasks.

Smiling faces greet you in the office…these days security is an issue for every school, so visitors need to sign in and get a badge to wear.

I made my way to the first kindergarten class…actually 1½ classes…the teachers split up one of the classes so that every student in the three kindergarten classes can take part in the 2 back-to-back presentations.

The children were excited to hear about KATY AND THE BIG SNOW by Virginia Lee Burton. Several of the children had already heard the story…some of them had the book at home. But these classic picture books were written to be enjoyed over and over again.

It always amazes me how perceptive young children are. I’ll share what one little girl said. “Katy must have a really big gas tank because she plowed all day and still kept going.” And one of the boys observed that the burning house was right in the path of a bunch of skiers and he hoped Katy would clear the road for the fire department really quickly. How many adults would have seen that amidst the busy illustrations on that page?

The craft project consisted of drawing a picture of a street scene and then adding features like houses, trees, clouds, sun, people, and, of course, cotton-ball snow. Watching young children work on a picture is a revelation in creativity. Each child used the cotton balls in a different way…spread out, cut in little pieces, piled up on the sidewalk…some even put some on the house roofs.

I’m looking forward to next Thursday, when I visit with the kindergarteners at Taylor School again.

If you or anyone you know is looking for great picture book recommendations, please stop by my website: www.positiveparentalparticipation.com and take advantage of the wonderful half-price sale going on right now. You can also qualify for a BONUS PRIZE of a Crafty Easter Basket filled with craft supplies for your preschoolers. Purchasers of the book are automatically entered to win, but you can get a free entry by filling out the contact form on the website.