Parent of the Week: Vivian

Meet Vivian- a mom and grandmother who is just delightful! Would you believe that this adventurous lady has jumped out a perfectly good airplane...something called skydiving... ;) Read on as she describes how the lessons she learned as a parent led her to create her very own business, which you can check out here!

As always, if you'd like to be a Parent of the Week or would like to nominate someone, email me at deluna.jamie@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you!

---------------

My love affair with children’s picture books began over fifty years ago as I helped my mother turn the pages of THE LITTLE HOUSE by Virginia Lee Burton.  Even as a very young person, I knew that my life would be devoted to uplifting young children. 

Vivian's book art- her 3 children!

As a kindergarten and Head Start teacher in the New York City public schools, I implemented an innovative program, using daily picture book stories, simple craft projects and easy healthful cooking activities that helped build self-esteem and develop pre-literacy skills.  But, when my husband and I decided to start a family, we made the decision that I would quit teaching and stay at home to raise our children.

 

However, our finances (or lack of them) required a second income.  And that’s how my daycare operation for the children of local teachers began.  Now I could stay home with my children, while earning money at the same time.  For me, it was the ideal solution to a problem that many parents face.

Looking back, while it might have been an ideal situation for me, I know that if you had taken a survey of my husband and my own children, you would have gotten a very different impression.  My husband was a teacher at that time and he returned home from work at 3:30pm…to be greeted by a houseful of young children…the six children I watched in addition to our own three.  And, even though they were usually involved in constructive and educational play activities…nine children in one home equals, well, nine children. :)  My husband wanted me to be there for HIM…not busy changing several diapers or preparing afternoon snacks for a bunch of toddlers.  My own children also resented this intrusion…other children sitting in THEIR chairs, playing with THEIR toys, taking the time and attention of THEIR mother.  They didn’t voice their unhappiness at the time…but whenever we talk about it now, they tell me that it made them mad and sad. 

Vivian's daughter and grandson

I think that being a parent is the most challenging and difficult job in the world…whether you are a SAHM or SAHD, whether you work at home or work outside the home while raising your children, whether you volunteer part-time as a crossing guard or you work 50 plus hours a week in an executive level position.   What works for one person, may not work for another.  Each person’s family situation is unique.   I guess my advice to parents is that they need to communicate with each other and decide together what works best.  Talking really does help…our special place was in the car parked in the driveway after the kids were sleeping.  We felt we were away from the situation…no phones, no interruptions…but close enough if we were needed.  It worked for us (we celebrated our 43^rd anniversary last August) and hopefully our children (all grown with families of their own) have discovered their own ways of dealing with problems and situations that arise.

This past September, I was able to share the innovative and successful program that I developed while teaching and doing daycare when my new book for parents and teachers of preschoolers, SHOW ME HOW! BUILD YOUR CHILD’S SELF-ESTEEM THROUGH READING, CRAFTING AND COOKING, was published.  It pinpoints 100 picture books every young child should hear and provides a story summary, gentle parenting tip, eco-friendly craft project and child-friendly healthful cooking activity for each recommended title.  This ultimate resource for busy parents builds self-esteem, develops pre-literacy skills and creates a life-long parent-child bond while giving parents a newfound sense of confidence in their own parenting abilities as well.

Vivian and Past Parents of the Week: Feel free to grab the Parent of the Week Badge:

<center><a href="http://avantgardeparenting.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src=" http://i911.photobucket.com/albums/ac319/avantgardeparenting/ParentoftheWeek.jpg " /></a></center>

Read more...

Inspiring Creativity Through Stories

When I was in elementary school, I wrote my own version of a children’s book (for a school project). It was called ‘Stinky the Dog.’ I must admit, it was loosely (closely?) based on our own family pet. In the story, ‘Stinky’ smelled horribly bad, but no one in the town wanted to hurt his feelings, so instead of telling him that he stunk, they all just wore gas masks. And everyone lived happily ever after. Sigh.

Do you ever make up stories with your kiddos? Creating stories with your children and turning them into books and illustrations can be great fun- even with the youngest of youngsters! Plus, kiddos come up with the best, funniest stories- just imagine how great it will be to read them back five or ten years from now!

One kiddo who has done just this has actually published her stories- have you heard of her? Paris Morris, at the ripe old age of 12, writes stories about her younger twin sisters. Her first book, I’m Having Twins! chronicles the changes young children experience when a sibling (or two!) comes along- but from the invaluable perspective and voice of a child. And can I just tell you how great the illustrations are in these books?! Perfect even for the youngest of bookworms! Her NEXT book, Paris goes to San Francisco, is coming out this Valentine’s Day!

Oh, and you might want to click on my giveaway tab at the top of the page, hint, hint!

Read more...

Parent of the Week: Kathleen

I'm thrilled to introduce this week's Parent of the Week, Kathleen. She's a fantastic mom of four (four!) who's written a great, relatable piece on reading to her children. Read it, then go check out her blog!

As always, if you'd like to be a Parent of the Week or would like to nominate someone, email me at deluna.jamie@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you!

---------------

My name is Kathleen. I have been married to Kip for 17 years. I am mother and teacher to our four children. I entered the world of mothering 12 1/2 years ago. After waiting four years to have a child, we had three in quick succession. After the first was born, we had another fourteen months later. Twenty-two months after that, we had our third baby. This was the day before the oldest turned three. (Yes that means that we had three children aged three and under.)

My life was a preschool world for a long time but now I have a twelve year old son, an eleven year old daughter, a nine year old daughter, and a five year old boy. The fall of 2011 will mark the time when I will no longer have any preschoolers. Sigh.

When Jamie offered to have me guest post, I thought about those days when I was immersed in parenting preschoolers. My favorite time of the day was -- and still is -- reading aloud to my children.

But really, it wasn't always that way. A really good tip came my way and erased the silent groan that came into my heart when my child would say, "Mommy will you read this book to me again?" I hated that groan in my heart. I wanted to read to my child. I thought the problem was how many times I had read that particular book but I soon discovered differently.

A wise woman told me to: Only read a book to your child that you loved to read. Even if it was a child's picture book. What a novel concept!

It did not take much to convince me. I heard it and took action. I went home and cleared our bookshelves of the mediocre books. I gave away all of the ones that made me groan inwardly when they asked me to read to them.

There were few books left.

I read Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown a. lot. I had discovered that it wasn't having a variety of books to read but rather having high quality literature to read that made the no-I-don't-want-to-read-this-book-to-you-but-will-anyway groan go away. I am so thankful that someone gave me that nugget of advice early in my parenting adventure.

The quest for high quality children's literature began then and still continues. I checked out from the library Jim Trelease's Read Aloud Handbook. Soon I bought the book. Not only does he inspire one to read aloud to your children, he includes an extensive reading list. Other books that have reading lists are Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt and Books Children Love by Elizabeth Wilson.

I love searching for good books for us to read together. My life has been enriched by the many books I have found. I treasure all of the cozy on the couch reading times we have had and hopefully we continue to have for a long time.

---------------

Kathleen and Past Parents of the Week: Feel free to grab the Parent of the Week Badge:

<center><a href="http://avantgardeparenting.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src=" http://i911.photobucket.com/albums/ac319/avantgardeparenting/ParentoftheWeek.jpg " /></a></center>

Read more...

Book Sharing with Your Little One

This one goes out to all the babies. All the babies who can’t read yet, which is, well, all of them. But there are plenty of things you parents can do with your little ones to get them familiar with books (and no, none of the things are the My Baby Can Read program. Or any other types of flash cards or ‘as seen on TV’ methods of teaching your infant to read, just in case you were wondering).

When is too early to start reading to my child?

Never! Incorporating books into your bedtime routine is a great way to introduce even the youngest bookworms to literacy and book sharing. You may find that a short, rhyming book will have a soothing tone for young babies, especially before bedtime.

What types of books should I be reading to my baby?

All kinds! Different types of books teach different things. Obviously, though, to babies, you wouldn’t read autobiographies or encyclopedias. Stick with picture books, rhyming books, board books, bathtub books (the plastic kind that are waterproof), and touch-and-feel books that stimulate a baby’s senses.

Don’t just read- explain.

Most babies’ books have very few words, so moms and dads- get creative! Tell your baby more about what’s going on in the book. ‘That’s rice cereal like you had this morning.’ ‘That’s a baby! That’s a puppy! Do you like puppies?’ Doing so will engage your baby with the pictures and your voice, allowing her to process the whole experience.

Don’t just read- point.

When you are explaining what’s going on in the story, try to do two things:

1.    Follow the text with your finger as you are reading. This lets your child know that text goes from left to right and has meaning, or is telling us what the story is about.

2.    Point to the objects you are talking about. This allows your child to make connections between what you are saying and what he’s seeing.

source

Don’t just read- ask.

Even if your child is too young to answer, asking questions about what is in the book teaches valuable lessons- that your child will likely encounter once she’s in school. Ask your very young baby simple questions like ‘Where’s the chicken?’ Ask your older child tougher questions like ‘What do you think will happen next?’ or ‘Why do you think she decided to do that?’ If your child has trouble answering, use clues in the book to help her.


Should I be trying to teach my baby to read?
Nope. With babies, concentrate on meaning, not teaching reading or the alphabet, says Dr. Anne van Kleeck of the University of Texas at Dallas Center for Children and Families. Did you know that no study shows that children who learn to read before the age of five have any long term advantages? So relax and enjoy reading time with your child!

My child is not interested in books. Help!

I recently shared a guest post on just this topic! The blog is called Mad for Reading. It’s a great blog with lots of tips and ideas for reading with children.

Read more...