Apr
7
Using LDS and Other Religious Children’s Books to Teach Gospel Principles in the Home
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My wife and I often go to Deseret Industries, which is a thrift store run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This thrift store accepts donations of all kinds and sells them. All profits go towards humanitarian projects. On day we found a book of Bible stories for children. This book has been a wonderful addition to our library. Although it was not published by an LDS publishing company and some of our beliefs are not represented in the book we have found that it is a great way to help our two- year-old son learn about the stories that are in the Bible.
Our son really enjoys another book we found called, “Today I Saw a Prophet”. The book is very dated as the prophet mentioned is President Spencer W. Kimball, however, our son does recognize him in pictures and might be the only two-year-old who can.
We have some of the old standbys such as “Illustrated Book of Mormon Stories” that children in the church have been learning from for years. It really helps teach principles and stories when the words are simpler with accompanying pictures.
We have found that having a variety of stories to read has been helpful so that on Sunday afternoons when our children want to watch movies we can pull out good books of both LDS and non-LDS stories.
The theme of Religious Children’s books is very dear to our heart because during Christmas time I had the opportunity to illustrate a story my mother had written years ago about the star of Bethlehem as a Christmas gift for my mother. My wife’s mother has also written several children’s books that are geared to a broader audience of Christians, and not just Mormons.
Our son enjoys the illustrations and often learns a story well enough to tell it himself by looking at the pictures. He then repeats in conversations things he has learned about Jesus, prayer, or being good. Not all religious children’s books teach the same doctrines, so we as parents have tried to make sure we agree with what a book teaches before presenting it to our children.
Although all religious children’s books do not teach identical doctrine, they do promote good principles and moral behavior. This prepares children for growing up and learn scripture stories on their own.
By: Trent Bowen
About the Author:
Apr
2
Loving Your Step-Children
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Loving your step-child can be both simple and hard. It is not enough for parents, step parents and extended family to feel a deep glow of love for the children in your circle of influence. You must convey that feeling into a message that is heard, felt and integrated by the child. Children need to be told both verbally and non-verbally how much they are valued for just being them.
As I interviewed children for my latest book Raise a Confident Child, I was struck by how many children thought their parent’s love was tied to their performance, character or behavior. As Jeremy told me “When ever I score at soccer, my dad really loves me.”
As I teach in parenting classes across the country, many people ask me what they can do to have stronger families and more harmony at home. My answer is in the non-verbal clues we give our children. Verbal communication is the language of information and much of that is spent in lecturing, teaching and correcting our children. No wonder they tune most of it out. Studies have shown we remember only 10–20% of what we hear.
Non-verbal communication is the language of relationships and is remembered and believed 80-90% of the time. So even if you do tell your children you love them, do you show them how precious they are to you? Do your actions demonstrate that your love and acceptance is not conditional upon their school grades, soccer goals or manners at the table?
Below are 8 simple (note I did not say easy, because any positive change in behavior is hard, but the end result is well worth the effort) ways to express your love and appreciation to and for your child.
1. Play games together. From the earliest months of your baby’s life, it came natural to play peek-a-boo when changing a diaper, or airplane when trying to get food into your toddler’s mouth. As children get less dependent on us, we forget to play silly games to hold their attention. Bring out the board games and turn off the TV, or play tag in the backyard. Do not allow competition or winning become more important than just being together.
2. Read with or to them at least 20 minutes daily. Children, even a few months old are comforted and soothed by the sound and rhythm of your voice as you read to them. The most important sounds a child can hear come from his parents and care-givers. When you read to children, you share such an important message for them, that you value reading and learning. Snuggling up and reading every day before bedtime or while dinner is cooking should continue, even after the children can read by themselves. We found the best way to curtail arguments while the after-dinner chores were being done, was to read aloud. Good stories provide problem solving experiences and allow children to look at events in their own lives from a different perspective. Turn off the TV and turn on the imagination as you read together.
3. Start and end each day on a positive note. Remember to use body language to indicate approval. A hug, high five, pat on the back or smile says so much without saying anything verbal .It has been said that eyes are the windows of our souls. If that is indeed true, and I think it is, make sure your eyes always say “hello, I’m glad to see you and I am glad you are in my life.” Recognize when your child is helpful and cooperative. Many times we take it for granted when our children do their chores without being reminded, are pleasant to the family and write down messages. However, we only react, sometimes loudly and with negative body language, when the message wasn’t given, the chore wasn’t done quickly enough or the attitude is less than approachable.
4. Try complimenting them at least once a day. Think of it like a daily vitamin, they may not need the supplementation today, but then again they might. Don’t let a day go by without letting them know how much they are appreciated and loved. A wonderful ritual a blended family we know does is recite to children individually each night a list of all the people in their lives that love them. They end with saying, “You are such a blessed and lucky person, look how many people love and care about you.”
5. Truly listen to them. One of the most effective ways to show a child you love him or her is to pay attention when they are talking. Be empathic while accepting your child’s feelings and try to maintain eye contact while they are sharing with you. Children are often deeply upset over things that seem pretty trivial to adults. When we brush off or trivialize their concerns it feels like a rejection of him personally.
6. Have family meetings. It is good to remember a family is an organization. In fact, it is the basic organization of society. This is just one of the reasons I am such a proponent of family meetings. You wouldn’t think of running a successful business without a plan, goal setting meetings, team building sessions and clear missions and expectations. For more information on how to set up family meetings see http://www.ArtichokePress.com .
7. Develop love touches and signals. The safest touch your new baby has is you. Let him feel your cheek against his sweet little head; rub his legs and arms when you change his diaper. As children grow older, surround them with love in the form of hugs, kisses, holding hands when taking a walk or even winking at them when they look at you. Develop love signals for children as they begin to draw away from displays of affection in public. Perhaps your family gives high fives, touches thumbs, or squeezes each other’s hands quickly to show you are all on the same team.
8. Keep a list of reasons you admire them. Sometimes the very things that irritate us the most with children are the strengths they will need to succeed in life. We have to recognize that a stubborn child will turn into a tenacious adult, eventually.
9. Separate the deed from the doer. Remember it is the behavior that we find unacceptable not the child. There is a big difference between the two and when we are angry, we tend to lump them together. Just because John takes money from the dresser does not make him a thief. It makes him a boy who made a bad decision and needs to learn that it is not acceptable to take money or anything else from anyone without permission.
10. Don’t make it or take it personal. All families have squabbles and all children say they wish their parents and caregivers were more lenient, generous or understanding. We all try to do the best we can with what we have been given, but we are the adults and must make sure that no matter what the children have given or called us, that we give them guidance, love, discipline and respect. It is our obligation to set consistent boundaries and to assist them in growing into self-directed, contributing members of society.
So often we do what is called unconscious parenting, just getting through the day. It is not that we don’t love our family; it is just that the love sometimes gets lost in the translation through poor communications or unskillful methods. I would like to challenge you to be more conscious in the words and actions that affect the children in your circle of influence. Hopefully, you will find some techniques here that will assist you in your efforts.
You do the most important work in the world.
“I was a step-parent at the young age of 24 and would have appreciated the information contained within this article in relation to my role in my step-children’s lives. Thank you.”
-Mary M. Arthur
Mar
31
Book clubs are a great way for adults to get together, have some fellowship, drink a glass of wine, and have intellectual conversation. Sure, book clubs may seem more geared towards women than men, but I know plenty of fantastic men who love their “book clubs” just as much as I do! True theirs may be on the latest Bobby Flay cookbook but hey, it is still reading!
So why are we not getting our kids more involved in these types of activities? Reading is the biggest push in education today. If our kids do not or cannot read, the future of this country will be in jeopardy. Educators are working overtime, round the clock, trying to teach kids to read. Think of a strategy to engage a child in reading? The school systems are doing it. Special props to Duval County in Jacksonville, FL for taking a proactive approach and requiring that ALL students be enrolled in some sort of reading class based on their reading needs.
That said, we can do plenty about this at home! As a parent and a teacher I know that it must start with me. If you are busy and do not have the chance to stay at home with your child, then read to them every night before bedtime. Let them touch the books, hold the books, eat the books if they want to! Any interaction a child has with a book is good and should be made to be a positive thing. Find a couple of friends with children in your age group and get them together once a month, just like the adults, and sit them in a circle with a pile of books. Do not expect them to discuss which characters they liked or hated, instead, have them “play” together with the books. As they get older, have them read to each other. If we make reading fun and part of what they do with their friends, we still have a chance to teach our future leaders how to be good readers!
For a list of great books to start your child off with, visit me at http://www.book-club-queen.com/book-clubs-for-children.html
By: Desiree Difabio
About the Author:
Want more information on book clubs? Looking for a book to read? Want to share something you’ve read? Visit http://www.book-club-queen.com for a fantastic adventure in reading!
Mar
30
Learn to Write For Children – Should You Do a Writing Course?
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You have never needed a writing course to pen intelligent, interesting stories that capture the imagination with bold creativity and unexpected twists. You know the difference between “there” and “their,” and understand that “they’re” is something else entirely. Your grammar is impeccable, and you know enough about the rules to know when to break them. That is, you have all these things on your side until you attempt writing children’s books. The best thing you can do for your children’s writing career is learn to write for this specific genre of writing!
There are many very successful authors who have written lots of books for adults in a variety of genres who find themselves stumbling when it comes to writing children’s books. They have well honed writing skills that they never needed a writing course to gain and they sit down to apply those skills to writing books children will love. Yet, the story never seems quite right. Or, they send it out repeatedly and get nothing more than immediate rejection. Some editors ignore them altogether, not even humoring them with a reply.
What is happening here? How is it possible to be successful when writing for adults without any need for a writing course, but fall flat on your face when trying to write children’s books? It’s not Okay to water down an adult novel and produce a story for children.
Writing for children is a lot different than writing for adults. There is no such thing as just sitting down and writing a children’s book without first learning a whole new set of skills. The rules are very different and if you do not understand them you will never get beyond the slush pile or will continue to collect those form letter, heartless rejection notes. But don’t worry, you can learn to write for children.
What pleases an editor looking for adult fiction is not going to be the same thing that an editor looking for children’s fiction wants. It’s much easier to write for adults because you understand the adult mindset. You are writing for people who have wit and wisdom well beyond what the children you are now writing for may possess. In order to craft wonderful children’s books, you need to tap into the mind of a child within the age group your story is intended for.
That means children’s books are not all the same! There are many different sets of rules depending on the age group being dealt with.
Further, there is a lot of insider knowledge that you need to take your children’s stories from the slush pile to the “published” pile. The industry is just not the same as the adult industry, even if you are dealing with the same publishing house you have been submitting to for years.
A great way to learn to write for children and find all of this insider information that you need and hone your skills so they are more suitable to a younger audience is to take a writing course aimed exclusively at writing children’s books. Before you start to think a writing course would be a waste of your time, consider how much time you are willing to waste submitting children’s books that completely miss the mark and never have a chance of being published from the moment you toss them out there.
You don’t have to do a long course. There are plenty of short courses around that concentrate on writing for children. Finding one can be easily found through your local library or online. Take some time to find one that suits your needs and teaching you what you don’t already know! Taking up a writing course will contribute to your success as a children’s author.
If you want the highest chance possible of writing successfully for children you will take the writing skills that you already possess and apply them to the new rules of the children’s book industry. You succeed with children’s books by combining your current skill set with an entirely new skill set. Learn to write for children by attending a professional writing course.
By: Lisa Brunel
About the Author:
Mar
25
Disciplining Your Children
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Ever looked for a book on how to best discipline your children? There is certainly no shortage of them, and each one seems to offer different advice. But remember that you know your child better than anyone else.
Every child has their own way of learning. Even children raised in the same household are likely to have different ways of learning to improve their behavior. It is best to consider the advice of experts, but apply their guidance to the needs of your individual child.
Have you ever wondered why time outs worked for one of your children but not for the other? Perhaps it would be better not to force one method of discipline on a child simply because it worked on their sibling.
One of my friends tried every method she could find to stop a child from biting. As she switched from method to method, she frustrated both herself and her child, but nothing worked. She needed to truly understand what motivated her individual child before any of these methods could be truly effective.
Discipline is sometimes necessary to teach children about consequences. Even as adults, there will be consequences for broken rules, so it’s best to teach them now.
It is never appropriate to use discipline that is harmful to the child. Acts of harm teach anger, they do not teach life tools.
Try to keep the discipline to something that actually teaches consequences for the behavior. For example, will sitting in a corner while you clean marker off a wall really teach them how hard it is to get marker off of a wall? Having the child clean the wall is a more appropriate punishment, because the consequence is directly related to the behavior.
Discovering the most appropriate disciplinary technique for your child is not always easy. But with patience and observation, you’ll get there, and raised a child who understands consequence.
By: Alex Wilhelm
About the Author:
Mar
22
Baby And Children Books
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It may be very confusing to choose an excellent book for your baby or toddler. You may come in a situation where you are having a hard time deciding on which book store can provide the best books for your kid. Or you may have been wondering on the quantity of books that your children should acquire. Here are some guidelines that you can follow in order for your children to learn to love reading at an early stage.
As you browse for books on stores or the internet, you may encounter a number of selections. Even libraries provide books which are excellent for your children. Be aware also of book sales or garage sales so you can get cheaper cost on these books.
If you will try to search for children’s book on the internet you may locate more than 200 thousand of resources associated with book sellers and clubs for children. If you will join some children’s club, you may be given a catalog for you to make selections of baby or children’s books and these will be transported straight to your residence. You may find that these books are very affordable and surely the kids will enjoy reading them. Allow your children to choose the books that they want to be delivered to your home.
Stimulate your children to read books even if they just pretend to be reading it the images and colors can be encouraging and sooner they will learn to read by themselves. You can start teaching your baby to read as early as 9 months. Sooner, you will find out that they are enjoying reading books.
By: Priyanka Arora
About the Author:
Mar
19
There is nothing more satisfying than reading to your child out loud and transforming the text in the book into something that feels like a living experience to your kids. How do you do that? Sounds like it’s simple, but it’s not! My first experience with stories was with my own Dad. A larger than life personality, he would not simply read me stories, he would add me to them as well! He had a tremendous talent for improvisation and was capable of making the story soar way above any writer’s dreams for their books.
Me? Not quite as talented! But I’ve read to my two boys for a total of 14 years, and one of them was based back in England. That one provided quite a challenge! Phone calls were a dollar a minute back then. I bought a cheap microphone and plugged it into my old cassette recorder and literally read the picture book from start to finish. I then sent him the finished cassette along with the paper book and waited to hear the screams of dismay from my ex-wife as she was tormented nightly by my voice!
Now, I create digital picture books for kids, and as such, I have supervised and engineered the recording of more than 30 online picture books and have even narrated some as well. On top of that, I have guided many adults and children through the recording process. My job is to get the perfect performance out of everyone. So if you’ve ever wondered why your kids don’t pay quite as much attention to you reading a story as they do to Uncle Jim, listen up! I’m here to help. Here are a few easy to follow tips that will change everything!
7. Reading out loud is not the same as reading to yourself. That is probably the biggest mistake people make. You are now the court jester! You have to pack as much energy into the story as possible. Make it live!
6. Practice a few books without the kids present. Yes, you heard me, PRACTICE! Take a book into the ‘loo’ (rest room) and act it out. Sounds great because it echos! Pretend you’re on stage. Let it go!
5. Enunciate your words clearly. Don’t slur or mumble. Every word must be understood.
4. No monotony! Be animated. Go beyond your normal boundaries. Read with verve and excitement. Ad lib a little – you can even change one of the character’s names to be that of the child you’re reading to!
3. Get into the characters. When you’re reading dialog, imagine you’re that person speaking. Try to make each character different in some simple way.
2. Don’t rush. Making mistakes will pull the kids out of the imaginary world you’re putting them in. Take your time, but allow your eyes to run a little ahead of your lips, that way you’ll know what’s coming and can put the right emphasis on it.
1. Imagine you’re the kid you’re reading to. Imagine the eager look of excitement on that kid’s face as the plot unfolds. You are creating a movie in the kid’s head! Have fun with it. Be it. They will always remember storytime with Mom and Dad.
So to wrap it up, let your hair down, allow your inner kid to emerge, be a little looney, make some silly faces and noises, ad lib a little and just watch the reactions as the kids become totally involved and clamor for more when you’re done.
Good luck and happy reading!
By: Christopher Kennedy
About the Author:
Twenty-five years experience in the Motion Picture Film Industry working in all areas of Sound Supervision, Sound Editing, and Music Editing; achieving more than 60 credits on films, made for TV movies and TV specials.
Nominated for three Golden Reel Sound Awards for: “Unfaithful,” “De-Lovely” and “Rameses.”
Collaborated with film composer, Jan A.P.Kaczmarek on the Oscar winning score for “Finding Neverland.”
YouTube preview of MobiStories narration
Mar
17
Book Design – Children Book Writers and Illustrators – What the SCBWI Has to Offer
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Organizations and associations are there to help us get to know the industry we’re in… I found SCBWI, The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, very helpful for me… here’s what I learned…
The SCBWI, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators offers a great many opportunities for those of us who love the idea of writing for children. Making a difference in their lives through our experiences and ability to tell the stories that catch their attention.
I recently joined this group of active writers and illustrators and have found them quite open and available. They have a newsletter filled with information about the children’s book industry.
They have events throughout the year which further educating writers that can attend. I found that they are informative and the networking that can be done worth every minute of it. I met editors and other authors that furthered my knowledge of the industry.
I learned about the categories that children’s books are divided up into.
I learned there is a different age group language that is to be used.
I learned about industry specific names for the different types of characters and style of writing and that the illustrations really can move the book to importance, that the illustrator is a very important part of a books success.
That many of the publishing houses have illustrators they prefer to use and that the relationship between all three parties involved is the most important part of having your book published.
The hours spent, the revisions made, sometimes almost complete rewrites … all involve the cooperation of the editor, writer and illustrator. The end product is a testament to their collaborative skills.
Knowing how and where to promote your skills is important to your books success and as mentioned about, organizations help you find the way. There are many different types of organizations for authors, The Publishers Marketing Association is one of the biggest and has local chapters in some areas. Also the National Speakers Association offers multiple events and information for authors who are also looking to do speaking. I know there are more I’m sure if you did a search for author or writer associations or organizations you’ll find some that will suite your needs and location.
And I’ll be writing about more of the organizations and associations you might find interesting in other articles.
By: Karrie Ross
About the Author:
Keep doing something every day towards your book!
Visit her website http://www.BookCoverDesigner.com To download your copy of her Free Quick Tips Booklet, PR Tips and Newsletter click here:
http://www.bookcoverdesigner.com/10-free-quick-tips-ebook.html
As a professional graphic designer Karrie Ross Book Design Services offer you helpful guidance, creative concept discussion, book cover design and interior layout and formatting services, marketing and PR consulting, website and e-book design. (c) 2008. Be It Now!, Inc, Karrie Ross All rights reserved. Permission to publish on-line or in print is granted so long as the article and by-line are printed intact.
Mar
16
How Are David Orme’s Books Helping Children With Dyslexia?
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Have you heard about David Orme and his wife Helen Orme? They write numerous books for Dyslexic and struggling readers. Read on to find out more about their books and find out why children are really reading them!
The books that David and Helen have written are specifically for children who either struggle to read or have dyslexia. They are aimed at children who are 8-14 years old but cleverly have a reading age of 6 and 7. This is just what children need to encourage them to read. The first 6 books in the series of 12 have a reading age of 6 and the remaining 6 have a reading age of 7.
Some of the books feature an extremely clever young lad, 14 years old, called Rick Shaw. Rick is only interest in science. When Rick’s dad is killed he brings all of his scientific knowledge together to fight evil, he becomes a super hero!
How does David Orme make his books suitable for struggling readers? With fantastic simplified Manga style drawings that spark the imagination of children and the use of speech bubbles with low word counts and simple language for a reading age of 6 and 7.
What do children think? I’ve been reading these books with children this week and they think they are very easy to read and understand, of course they love the vibrant pictures but I’m more impressed by what the children didn’t say… They were so busy reading that they didn’t have time for talking! After reading the books the children could describe the books in great detail, a real achievement.
By: Sue Kerrigan
About the Author:
Visit: Let Me Learn to find out about the adventures in all the Boffin Boy books!
Mar
5
Teaching Preschoolers to Read – Five Steps to Literacy
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Some children begin school reading, while others seem to have no idea what a book is or how to recognise letters of the alphabet. While Kindergarten is a great opportunity for young children to develop their reading skills, it is difficult for even the best teachers to give the children the kind of one-on-one time that parents can. Also, by the time children reach Kindergarten, their attitudes to reading are already ingrained. For children to grow up loving reading, books need to be a part of their lives almost from the day they are born. It is never too early to begin “teaching” children to read. This isn’t about “hot housing,” formal lessons, or gimmicky videos. The key to raising book lovers is making books a part of children’s lives. In other words, read! Read to your children from the day they are born, read yourself, point out words, talk to your children clearly, enunciating your syllables, take delight in language and in the pleasures of the written word, and the chances are that your children will naturally want to learn. The following five points are for parents whose children are around 4-5 years old and who want to prepare their children for reading at big school.
1. Read. Your child is never too old to be read to. Cuddle up, put on your corniest acting voice, and have fun together. And let your child see you reading for fun. Read signs, magazines, the back of cereal boxes, the TV guide, and of course, read good books (see my website The Compulsive Reader at http://www.compulsivereader.com if you want help choosing adult books!).
2. Know your child. Children learn in different ways. Some children learn to read instinctively through whole word recognition. These children just slide from memorising and reciting the text to making the connection between the words they say and the words on the page. For a child like this, let them pretend to read as much as possible. Let them fill in missing words for you, “read” to parents and grandparents, and always have lots of books around. For most other children, you will probably need to do some phonics (teaching the sounds of words). There are many phonic resources on the market, but the best one I’ve found is a free website: http://www.starfall.com It begins with letter sounds and builds up slowly with games, varied activities and printouts. You can do as much or as little as you and your child want, but since it is interactive, colourful and presented as play, you may find that even reluctant readers will be keen.
3. Play. Word recognition games like “I Spy” using letters, finding road signs, letter memory, word and letter puzzles and even junior scrabble are all great ways of teaching , as are posters you can point to, friezes, and other bright resources.
4. Write. Writing helps children understand how letters build to words, words build to sentences and sentences to ideas and books. Write little notes to your children and then help them read them (I like to put notes in my children’s lunch boxes — keep them simple, with smiley faces or love hearts). Help children write a book by stapling pages together. Cut out and paste pictures onto a sheet of paper and then write about them. Have your children write a simple letter to a favourite relative and post it. There are lots of ways to play with writing.
5. Keep up the work. The year before starting school is the perfect time to begin teaching your child to read and if you have a short reading activity of the kind listed above every day, the chances are very good that they will start school with, at the very least, a readiness to begin reading. This is a wonderful head start to literacy, a love of reading, and a positive school experience.
By: Maggie Ball
About the Author:
Her novel, Sleep Before Evening: http://www.compulsivereader.com/html/images/SleepBeforeEvening.htm has been called “exquisite”; “perfect”; and “a triumph of the soul.”