My older son who just turned five, absolutely loves books. I have a huge personal library of children’s books that I have collected over the years and added to immensely during my years of teaching in the preschool and primary grades. However, even with these shelves of books at his fingertips, Brennen still loves to go to the local library to find new ones we haven’t yet read.
Recently, Brennen has started reading some easy reader books that are akin to the Dick and Jane books familiar to generations past. They are simple paperback books with around twenty pages each. There are only four in the series he likes so I thought I would purchase them for him so he could read them again in again. I was shocked to find each book selling for as much as 72 dollars. I have no idea why these books are so expensive, but I was elated to find that between our two local libraries, we have the four books at our fingertips for free. Thank goodness for the library because there was no way I was paying anywhere near that amount for these books.
This, of course, is just one series that the library has available that we do not have in our own home. I am so thankful that public libraries are so prolific and give everyone a chance to read books we could not otherwise afford.
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Written by Laura on July 23, 2010
I would not have guessed that a food company would have such a wonderful web site, but I was delightfully surprised when I stumbled upon the Nestle web site called VeryBestKids.com. It is loaded with far more than chocolate recipes (Although those are there too if you have a sweet tooth!).
You can find parenting tips, ways to keep kids healthy, educational articles, and, of course, recipes.
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Written by Laura on July 2, 2010
There is a show on PBS that both of my boys really enjoy watching. “Sid the Science Kid” is a preschool and early elementary targeted television show that attempts to make an array of science topics simple enough for young learners to understand. Children seem to love the computer generated animation, and the subject matter allows me to feel comfortable letting my children watch tele
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Written by Laura on June 28, 2010
I live in a pretty small town. Even our tiny little library, however, is offering a summer reading program for children as young as 2 1/2. They will read stories, play games, and complete craft activities for one hour each week. My children, like most others I know, love going to the library and are sure to enjoy visiting on a weekly basis this summer. Check out your own local library to see w
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Written by Laura on June 4, 2010
Although most questions surrounding a child’s entrance into kindergarten are those pertaining to academics, there are also many questions that arise on a more technical note. Enrollment age, kindergarten continuance, and extended day kindergarten are all issues which tend to have many questions surrounding them.
The California Department of Education has put together a portion of their web
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Written by BRWI Staff on May 7, 2010
Word families are groups of words that have the same ending sound. They are typically three or four letter words such as hug, bug, jug, mug, etc. You can help your child gain confidence in reading using simple word families because he will quickly realize he can read a lot of words when he knows the ending sound. Here is a quick activity you can do with your child to create word family flip boo
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Written by Laura on February 28, 2010
To you and I, fingerplays may get boring and repetitive after the second time hearing one. But to your child, fingerplays offer a wonderful way in which he can expressively tell a short story from start to finish. The ability to complete a fingerplay on his own builds his confidence, and gives him practice with memorization as well as storytelling. They can also offer practice with motor skills
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Written by Laura on January 15, 2010
I have a good friend who has just begun to home-school for preschool. She is really excited and often throws in some extra craft ideas. Sometimes I will offer suggestions for crafts or other activities she could do with her child that pertain to a particular topic she is teaching. She is always astounded at how I come up with all of these ideas. I think she just assumes it is a “teacher
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Written by Laura on October 7, 2009
As the parent of a preschooler, you have probably experienced the repetitive nature young children love to encompass when choosing a book to read. In my home, we are currently reading From Head to Toe by Eric Carle at least five or six times each week. Around Christmas time, I have come to dread displaying a copy of The Polar Express because my oldest child, although he pretty much has it memori
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Written by Laura on August 28, 2009
Children today are exposed to television everywhere they go. At school, in the doctor’s office waiting room, the airport, the mall, and, of course, at home. Even parents who try to limit the amount of television their children are exposed to would have to admit that their children quickly recognize and identify characters from popular programs and movies. Instead of fretting over the “
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Written by BRWI Staff on May 8, 2009
