Show-Me-How Story-time with Miss Vivian Travels to Chicago

Posted on August 28, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Frank Sinatra sang songs about many of the cities that he loved…New York – San Francisco – Chicago.

After a fantastic long weekend in Chicago, I’ll have to echo some of his words (written by Sammy Kahn and Jimmy Van Heusen):

Chicago is one town

That won’t let you down

It’s my kind of town.

I arrived on Friday morning and spent the day relaxing with my son and daughter-in-law at their home. Visiting with them is like going to a spa…they LOVE to cook “healthy” and every morning they start the day with a bowl of fresh fruit…mangoes, papayas, bananas, apples, peaches…drizzled with a little honey. For lunch each day, my son made a huge vegetable salad bowl for each of us…cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, mushrooms…all topped with some capers and a splash of aged blueberry balsamic vinegar.

My book event, Starting School Jitters Be Gone, on Saturday at Lollie, a children’s boutique in Evanston, just 20 minutes north of downtown Chicago, was so much fun! This shop is an amazing place…filled with many handmade and locally designed clothes and accessories, as well as other unique items for infants, toddlers and children. The owner is knowledgeable, helpful and a really lovely lady…I know if I lived in the Chicago area, I’d stop in there for any new baby gifts I needed, as well as for birthday and Christmas presents for any little ones on my list.

Of course, Mother Nature had her own plans for 11am, the time the first presentation was to start. The skies over the entire Chicago area darkened, and the heavens poured forth a torrential rainstorm, accompanied by huge claps of thunder and crackling flashes of lightening.

Inside Lollie, however, everything was bright and cheery. A group of young children listened attentively as I read The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. As the story about Chester unfolded, the children heard how the little raccoon, anxious about his first day of kindergarten, learned a secret from his mother that helped him overcome his fear and go to school with eager anticipation.

After the story reached its happy conclusion, I showed the children a sample of the craft project and explained how we would all be making “Kissing Handprints”…deciding who we loved and who loved us and then drawing in the features for each person (or pet or stuffed animal) on each finger.

Parents and children clustered around the craft table and we proceeded to draw an outline of each child’s hands. The hum of happy children, busily engaged in a constructive activity with their parents, is definitely music to my ears. “This finger is going to be my mommy” said one little girl. “And those are my dogs” she added.

The storm had ended by the time the second presentation was over. My son and daughter-in-law, who had brought me and had assisted during the program, helped me pack everything up. I’m looking forward to my next trip to Chicago…Lollie’s owner has invited me to come back to do another program, whenever I’m in town. Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking is available at the shop for those of you who are in the Chicago area.

The next few days were filled with family visits, an afternoon at the beach – unbelievable to have a REAL sandy beach with what looks and smells like the ocean (it’s really Lake Michigan) right across the street from the downtown area of a major city – and an architectural river boat cruise. It was difficult to leave…I’m already looking at my calendar to see when my next jaunt to Chicago will be.

My next post will be a review of a children’s book, A Reel Cool Summer, written by Martha Rodriguez. We connected online and she loved my book and did a great review of it. I brought her book on my trip and was able to share it with my great-niece and great-nephew…they absolutely loved it and were totally engaged in the story…so in my next post, it will be my turn to tell everyone why they need to run out and get a copy of Ms. Rodriguez’ fun-filled book for children ages 6-9.

Photo credit: Thanks to JCrocker for the Chicago skyline pic.

Making Memories With Your Children: Summer Craft Activities

Posted on May 14, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Image via Wikipedia

I was in Chicago last weekend for Mother’s Day with my son and daughter-in-law. I also had an opportunity to visit with my sister and her sons and their families.

One evening, we all got together at a fantastic BBQ, hosted by my nephew and his wife. We all had a great time…the food was not only delicious, but healthful as well…kudos to Dave and Rebecca!

After dinner, we sat down to look at the old photo albums my sister had brought. As we turned the pages and my son and his cousin (both in their 30’s) exclaimed over each picture, I realized how important the pictures were…they reminded these grown men of the children they had been and the activities they had been involved in when they were young.

Summer is just around the corner…I know many parents are wondering how they will fill the long hot days with their children.

Of course, there are various solutions to this problem:

Put them in some kind of day camp…might be costly.
Sit them in front of the TV…how many cartoons do you really want them to watch?
Send them to someone else’s house…don’t you want to be the one they get their values and information from?

What is my solution to the problem of young children home for the summer?

READING…CRAFTING…COOKING!

Young children are always eager to hear a good picture book story.

Young children love arts and crafts.

Young children enjoy helping in the kitchen.

If you buy a copy of my book that is FILLED with picture book suggestions and summaries, easy arts and crafts activities and simple healthful recipes, you will be prepared for the long hot summer days ahead.

For starters, here’s a great idea that comes from Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking. It will help capture those memories for your child as you create a photo album together.

AN ALBUM OF ME

You will need: A small blank photo album, a selection of photos of your child at different stages of his or her life, self-stick labels and a fine point marker.

1. With your child, go through some of the pictures that you have of him from birth to the present…and let him choose several to include in his own album. Make copies if you want to keep the originals in the family album.

2. Help your child insert each photo and then write a description (with his input) on a label or small strip of paper and press or glue it on the bottom of each page.

3. Listen to your child while he turns the pages of his album and tells you the story of his life.

4. Important tip: keep a camera handy…you never know when a photo opportunity arises.

Activities like this help:

build your child’s self-esteem!
develop pre-reading skills!
create a life-long parent-child bond!
keep your child busy in a constructive positive fun-filled way that will be fun for you also!

Start planning your summer activities now…with this amazing short-cut for busy parents and teachers!

And please stop by tomorrow for Cinema Sunday: My Picks of Great Flicks.

Mother’s Day Special: What’s In Your Child’s Bookcase Wordy Wednesday

Posted on May 3, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Mrs. Ramsay and her children, Montreal, QC, 1891

Image by Musée McCord Museum via Flickr

“You may have tangible wealth untold,

Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold,

Richer than I you can never be,

I had a mother who read to me.”

This well-known verse by Strickland Gillihan points out so clearly how important it is to read to your child. I know that most of you do…for those of you who don’t…you are missing out on something really special. Reading picture books with young children is special for several reasons:

It engages the child in the story and events between the pages.
It develops pre-reading skills.
It opens up a window of opportunity for you and your child to discuss, not only the story, but how it relates to your child. Often, during story-time, children are able to talk more openly about issues that bother them.
The time you spend together creates a life-long parent-child bond and can be so much fun for everyone involved.

Here’s a great children’s book that celebrates Mother’s Day.

No Time For Mother’s Day by Laurie Halse Anderson is a story about a little girl who has two days to decide what to get for her mother. She goes shopping with her cousin whose mom had given her daughter a list of what she wanted and the money to buy everything. However, Charity does not see anything she wants to get for her mother. What she really wants to get is an extra pair of hands for her mother who is always so busy. On Mother’s Day, Charity’s present to her mom is revealed…a day of peace and quiet. Charity has turned off all of the phones and things that go beep.

Some other good Mother’s Day titles:

1. My Mother is Mine by Marion Dane Bauer

2. Berenstain Bears & the Mama’s Day Surprise by Jan and Stan Berenstain

3. Happy Mother’s Day by Steven Kroll

4. A Present for Mom by Vivian French

5. I Love You, Mama by Isabel Gaines

Reading, crafting and cooking with young children are wonderful activities that build self-esteem, develop pre-reading skills and create a life-long parent-child bond. If you’d like some more activities to fill the summer days ahead, you can purchase a copy of my book. It provides hundreds of great picture book suggestions, simple craft projects and easy cooking activities…enough to keep everyone happy and busy all summer long and beyond!

If you go to my website, you’ll be able to buy a copy at 20% off the cover price AND receive a bonus $10 Marshalls/TJMaxx gift card that will be mailed to you with the book. This is a special Mother’s Day offer, good only until May 8. The book is a great Mother’s Day gift for any mom who is time-short. There are 256 pages that are chock-full of easy eco-friendly activities that will keep your young children busy every day.

Buy a copy between May 1 and May 8 and receive a $10 Marshalls/TJMaxx Gift Card (aren’t these two of the best stores for moms?) with your order.

Please stop by tomorrow…for Healthy Habit Thursday…I’ll have some great tips about how to make blood draws easier for kids.

On Friday, I’m flying to Chicago to spend Mother’s Day weekend with my son and daughter-in-law. I will be meeting with the owner of Lollie’s, a children’s boutique, to discuss placing Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking in her shop…she’s read the book and loves it and would like to have it available for her customers. 🙂 So, Miss Vivian will be in Chicago for the next few days!

And I’m really excited because next week, we’ll be featuring a guest post from a local Colorado Springs author, Rebecca Dunning. She’s a really special lady and I’m thrilled to welcome her to next week’s What’s In Your Child’s Bookcase Wordy Wednesday.