Sunday Post: Autumn…Five Tips for a Healthier School Year

Posted on September 16, 2012 by viviankirkfield

Jake at Time after Time has a Sunday Post Challenge and every week he provides a theme…this week’s theme is AUTUMN.

Take a hayride down scarlet and gold tree-lined country roads!

Pick the best pumpkin!

Have the healthiest school year ever by following these five simple steps:

Wash hands often: everyone should have their own towel…perhaps a different color for each member of the family. This helps colds from spreading.

Dress appropriately: when it is cold, children should be dressed warmly, with hats or hoods on their heads.
Get enough sleep: young children need LOTS of sleep so set up bedtime routines and stick to them. Our body renews and cells regenerate during sleep. Did you know that children between the ages of 2 and 5 need 11-14 hours of sleep? For more information about sleep and young children, you can go to: http://www.sleepforkids.org/html/sheet.html.
Make every meal and snack count: a good breakfast is a MUST and snacks can provide additional important nutrition, especially for picky eaters. For more ideas on healthy meal planning for the whole family, you can visit: http://kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_center/healthy_eating/habits.html
Keep a sick child home: I know it is difficult, especially when parents work…but your child will get better sooner and the teacher and the other children in the class will thank you.

Open just two more weeks: We want to give away 12 free copies of Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cookingto schools or other childcare facilities. Nominate your child’s school in the Show Me How School Initiative by leaving a comment and telling us why you’d like them to have this book. If you don’t have young children, but know people who do, please tell them about the free book their child’s school can receive! Tweet this and spread the word across any of your social media networks. At the beginning of October we will use Random.org to choose 12 lucky schools.

Want more information about Jake’s Sunday Post?

http://jakesprinters.wordpress.com/

Sunday Post: Autumn (shaanthz.wordpress.com)

Sunday Post: Morning…We Remember 9/11

Posted on September 11, 2012 by viviankirkfield

Jake at Time after Time has a Sunday Post Challenge and every week he provides a theme…this week’s theme is MORNING.

When tragic events take place, we almost always remember where we were and what we were doing.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, the unimaginable happened…planes piloted by terrorists crashed into the Twin Towers in NYC and into the Pentagon in Washington, DC. One plane, destined to destroy the White House, was retaken by a group of courageous passengers and crashed into a field in Pennsylvania, killing all aboard, but saving the target from harm.

I was at home, trying to follow up on some phone calls for my husband’s business…but no one was answering. I wondered about that and turned on the television in time to witness the horror on live TV. My first thought was to call my own children, spread out across the country, to make sure they were all ok.

Morning is a time for renewal when all things begin again. Each of us has the opportunity every day…to make changes, choose different options or follow a new path…because every day is the first day of the rest of your life.

We remember that morning eleven years ago…and pray for all who were impacted by it.

We thank the brave firefighters, police and others…many who gave their own lives.

And we pray for guidance to make the world a safer place for our children.

I’d also like to share a few important details:

If you’d like to hear my interview on Michael Scott’s Bookmark Radio Show: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bookmark-radio-network/2012/09/11/bookmark-radio-netwok-with-author-vivian-kirkland# (Yes, my name is spelled incorrectly…perhaps I need to change it to Kirkland…so many people seem to like it better that way.)
The Summer Short and Sweets Contest winner will be announced tomorrow on Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog…if you’d like to read the stories submitted by the six finalists (I’m honored that mine is one of them), please go here. You can even VOTE for the one you like best!
We are still looking for more nominations of schools to receive a free copy of Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking. All you have to do is leave a comment on my blog post, naming the school or child-care facility that you’d like to enter in the Show-Me-How School Initiative.

Sunday Post: Morning (autumninbruges.wordpress.com)
Sunday Post: Morning (francineinretirement.wordpress.com)
Jakesprinter Sunday Post – “Morning” (caddoveil.com)

Sunday Post: Black & White…or Do We Parent in Shades of Gray?

Posted on August 20, 2012 by viviankirkfield

Jake at Time after Time has a Sunday Post Challenge and every week he provides a theme…this week’s theme is BLACK AND WHITE

I always love to connect the Sunday Post theme to an aspect of parenting.

As parents, we have many choices to make.

Should we be strict or lenient?

Do we move to the city or the suburbs.

Will our children go to public or private schools…or should we homeschool?

But there are some things about parenting that are BLACK AND WHITE:

Parenting requires organizational skills…kids need routines.

Parenting requires communication skills….kids need you to listen to them.

Parenting requires compassion…kids need your love.

Parenting requires consistency…kids need rules that are enforced.

But setting rules does not means that everything is black and white.

Is stealing wrong? What if your children were starving?

Is killing wrong? What if someone is trying to kill you or your child?

Perhaps parenting is a journey in “Shades of Gray”.

Parenting requires participation…kids need your time.

Practice Positive Parental Participation and your child will have a head-start to a happy and successful life.

Spending quality time with your young children now will have a positive impact on their school performance. It also helps them build stronger relationships later in life.

To be in your children’s memories tomorrow, you need to be in their lives today. Show Me How is the book that makes it easy and fun!

Giving back is important to me. Part of the proceeds of each copy sold is donated to several children’s organizations.

Schools are opening all over the country and we’d like to give a free copy of Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking to your favorite school or classroom. Nominate your child’s school or other childcare facility in the Show Me How School Initiative by leaving a comment and telling us why you’d like them to have this book. If you don’t have young children, but know people who do, please tell them about the free book their child’s school can receive! At the end of September, we will be awarding a dozen books to the winning schools.

Last, but certainly not least, I just came back from a local SCBWI meeting…one of the members, children’s author Marty Banks, has a new book out on the market. The Adventures of Tempest & Serena is a wonderful chapter book for readers ages 7 and up. I’ll be reviewing the book here in a couple of days, but I wanted to give everyone a heads-up about the free download that is coming up next weekend. I’ll post the correct URL when I do the review. I think this is a book parents and grandparents will want to buy for holiday gifting!