What’s In Your Child’s Bookcase Wordy Wednesday: YES WE CAN! and the Versatile Blogger Award :)

Posted on March 23, 2011 by viviankirkfield

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It’s been a most wonderful week so far! I want to share some good news before I review the picture book I choose for today’s post.

Of course, every coin has a flip side…and I guess we all decide which side of the coin we will focus on. Sunday afternoon, I pulled my back out and was in quite a lot of pain. No, that is NOT the good news. 🙂 Then, on Tuesday, I went to my doctor who did an adjustment of my back (OUCH!) and when I went to the parking lot to get in my car, I noticed I had a flat tire! No, that is still NOT the good news. 🙂

The GOOD news is that one of my fellow bloggers, Eliz of Mirth and Motivation presented me with the Versatile Blogger Award…an honor coming from the best blogger I know out there. She asks that I pass along the “good vibrations” to other great bloggers out there…so many of them were on her list already. 🙂 But, when I get back from my trip to the east coast, I will try to send it out to some of the people whose blogs are so very helpful to so many. 

The other GOOD news is that Jamie of Avant Garde Parenting selected me as Parent of the Week and I’ve posted that button on my sidebar. You can click on her link to read the article.

Oh yes, and there is still more good news! I leave on Friday for New Hampshire to spend a LONG weekend with my daughter and her family…I am really excited to see them…I know my 2 ½ year-old grandson has grown so much since I saw him in October. I’m excited to be reading, crafting and cooking with him and I’ll definitely try to do a post while I’m there…but, if you don’t hear from me for a few days, you’ll know why.

This week, I’ve been concentrating on the theme of companionship and, in SHOW ME HOW! BUILD YOUR CHILD’S SELF-ESTEEM THROUGH READING, CRAFTING AND COOKING, I found the perfect picture book to review, Yes We Can! by Sam McBratney.

YES WE CAN

Written by Sam McBratney

Illustrated by Charles Fuge

Little Roo, Country Mouse and Quacker Duck start to make a giant pile of leaves, but stop to rest. While they are resting, they start making fun of each other for what they don’t do well. Roo’s mother suggests that each show what they CAN do best. Little Roo jumps over a log. Quacker Duck floats on a puddle. Country Mouse chases and catches his own tail. The friends agree that each one is special and has unique talents and qualities.

Little Roo’s mother found a creative way to teach her son and his friends to appreciate their own special talents without envying those of others. Being a good friend and companion does not always come naturally. As parents, we need to encourage our children to value their own strengths and qualities, as well as the strengths and qualities of others. We make a start by recognizing their uniqueness and by supporting their creativity, even if it veers in a different direction from ours.

If you are looking for 99 other MUST READ picture books, please visit my website where you can purchase a copy of SHOW ME HOW!…a unique resource that pinpoints and summarizes 100 picture books every young child should hear and provides a matching craft project and cooking activity for each recommended title. Leave a comment here about why you would like to win the Crafty Easter Basket for your preschooler or fill out the contact form on my website. At 50% off the cover price, this MUST HAVE BOOK is now a CAN HAVE BOOK.

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

Posted on March 18, 2011 by viviankirkfield

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St. Patrick’s Day was yesterday…and the luck of the Irish was definitely with me.

I had the most wonderful day!

Early morning found me at Taylor School again, visiting with the kindergarten children in back-to-back story presentations.

We read Cornelius P. Mud, Are You Ready For Bed?

When I walked into the first kindergarten room, I did a double-take! The children were dressed in pajamas! At first, I thought that the teacher had requested this because the picture book story is about a little pig who is getting ready for bed…and putting on his pajamas is one of his tasks.

It turns out that Thursday was Pancakes and Pajamas Day…and all of the kindergarten children were dressed in their favorite PJ’s. Some even had robes and slippers…I was definitely jealous…they looked so comfy.

So it was really the perfect setting to read a story about getting ready for bed…and the children did not disappoint…they were eager to discuss the story and knew right away how silly Cornelius was when he fed the gold fish his chocolate chip cookies. 🙂

After reading and discussing the story, the children were ready to move to their tables to construct a No Tick-Tock Clock with movable hands. I was impressed with their ability to write all of the numbers of the construction paper clock face and I know they will enjoy taking the clocks home and using them to help them get to bed “on-time”.

The second presentation differed a little because we ran out of time and were not able to do the craft project. The teacher found a wonderful alternative…she handed out small resin-board clocks to groups of three students each…and then drew a digital clock on the board. Each child had an opportunity to read the digital time and then use the numeral clock with movable hands to show the correct time.

Telling time is an important skill for young children to learn…and especially today, with digital clocks in most places, parents and teachers need to make sure that children know how to tell time “the old-fashioned” way.

Leaving Taylor School, I headed over to Columbia School, where I had an appointment to be interviewed by two students who had a job shadow assignment. As each of them aspires to be an author, they wanted to talk to someone who had published a book so that they could find out what was involved. I had brought the rough drafts of my SHOW ME HOW! book and also the original mock-up of one of the picture books I’ve written. That mock-up was written over 30 years ago…so it was interesting for them to see it and then to see the finished product with illustrations by my talented daughter-in-law.

The 4^th-graders had LOTS of questions…when did I know I wanted to be a writer…and what inspired me to write? What do I do in a normal day and do I use paper and pen or the computer? How did I contact a publisher? Does the author hire the illustrator or does the publisher handle that.

My advice to them was to follow their dream and never give up. It takes a lot of patience and hard work and perseverance to succeed at ANYTHING…and writing is no different. I encouraged them to have confidence in themselves and in what they hope to accomplish.

SHOW ME HOW! BUILD YOUR CHILD’S SELF-ESTEEM THROUGH READING, CRAFTING AND COOKING is all about instilling a sense of competence and confidence in your young children. Children with a positive self-image are more likely to take on new tasks and accept new challenges. Isn’t that what we want for our children?

Please visit my website to take advantage of the 50% OFF SALE PRICE on each copy. You can also enter to win a FREE Crafty Easter Basket which will be awarded on April 10^th. All you have to do is fill out the contact form.

What’s In Your Child’s Bookcase Wordy Wednesday: HOOT AND HOLLER

Posted on March 16, 2011 by viviankirkfield

A sketch titled "Owls of the Yosemite Reg...

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Friendship…something human beings cannot live without.

Today’s story recommendation is about friends who learn the importance of voicing their feelings about each other.

HOOT AND HOLLER

Written by Alan Brown

Illustrated by Rimantas Rolia

Holler, a big owl, and Hoot, a little owl, played together every night in the woods. They were both shy, and neither friend spoke of how he felt about the other. A storm separated the two owls and each worried that he would never find his best friend. A wise old owl advised Holler to call out loudly for Hoot. Although Holler was very shy and had never been able to raise his voice, he found the courage to call very loudly…and Hoot heard him! They found each other and were overjoyed and were finally able to express their feelings of love.

How difficult it is to express one’s feelings sometimes! We can help our children by being good role models…don’t wait for a special occasion to tell your child that you love him. Children need to know they are loved every day of their lives. And, although the verbal confirmation of your love is important, you need to show your child as well…with Positive Parental Participation!

Yesterday’s Quotable Timeless Tuesday’s post was all about friendship…but I saved one for today because it fit so perfectly with the story of Hoot and Holler and not telling our friends how we feel about them.

“Do not save your loving speeches,

For your friends till they are dead.

Do not write them on their tombstones,

Speak them rather now instead.” – Anna Cummins

In the same way, please don’t save your praise and loving words for your children…speak them every day. The tragic events in Japan give voice to our awareness that each day is precious and tomorrow is not guaranteed.

For more gentle parenting tips and 99 other picture book recommendations, please visit my website where you can pick up a copy of SHOW ME HOW! at half-price AND enter to win a FREE Crafty Easter Basket filled with craft supplies for your preschooler.

Please stop by tomorrow for Healthy Habit Thursdays.