You may not know it, but a child’s lifetime love of reading doesn’t start in preschool. Believe it or not, literacy begins in infancy, and as a a caregiver, you have the profoundly important task of inspiring this love of reading in your kids. The ability to read, communicate and understand the written language of […]
Since we’re always on the lookout for great new books to share with young readers, I thought that the new children’s book from enormously successful writer and Children’s Choice Author Of The Year award recipient, James Patterson would be a great place to start, so I hit up his website looking for information. Indeed, […]
Save time and money this holiday season by getting the shopping done. The books below are proven winners for their respective age groups and will become treasured possessions for the little elves in your life. The list are broken up by age range and gender below. Boys–baby to 2 years: [bookstore-product-grid postids=”267817,310677,290260,216330″] Girls–baby to 2 […]
The Thanksgiving holiday is arriving quickly and I haven’t talked to very many parents out there who are ready for it. With our uber busy lives, sometimes it’s hard to remember to take minute to slow down and enjoy those precious moments with your kids. Like many parents, there are days that speed past and […]
Just prior to the polls closing on the U.S. presidential election last night, I wondered how much awareness my gradeschool children had about the election, politics and the president. So, I asked them. I also happened to be throwing an improptu birthday party for my son, and with about half of the kid residents of […]
A very small degree of hope is sufficient to cause the birth of love. ~Stendhal As a kid, I was the happy recipient of a bedroom decorated in all things Holly Hobbie. I had the pink and green curtains, the rug and bedding, and I even had one of those rag dolls with the movable […]
Autumn is a perfect time of year to take children outside to experience a unique aspect of developing literacy skills…the development of sensory skills. Why is developing sensory skills so crucial to developing literacy? Just as a new born cannot stand up and walk or run, the development of literacy skills is a process much […]
Learning the alphabet is the first step to learning to read. According to a parental report, the National Household Education survey found that half of the children entering kindergarten could recognize some or all the letters of the alphabet. Children’s ability to recognize letters and names, as well as literacy skills in general, is affected […]
An outspoken bibliophile, I’ve often been troubled by the lack of access to books for kids from needy families. The evidence regarding the effects of the lack of educational resources, especially books, on young children has been demonstrated repeatedly. It’s a fact that kids need to have books in their hands, since, “By the age of 2, children who are […]
I think it’s entirely possible to learn about gratitude from a giant monster. Allow me to explain. Having worked in education, and getting to see kids in their Halloween costumes has turned me into a bit of a Halloween buff. It is one of my most favorite holidays, since it represents a time of year […]