Ultimate At Home Activities for Kids: 159 ways to keep children busy
Designed by Kate and Chris Stead
This activity book is a parent or caretaker’s go to resource when the kids are bored. The only materials needed are paper, pencils, the internet and common household materials like glue and scissors.
It is not age specific. Some activities are simple enough for preschoolers while others will entertain teens. Here are some of the topics: zoos, Olympics, arts and crafts, movement activities, bears, pirates, legos, music, and libraries.
Children can perform the activities by themselves, in groups, or have a competition.
I highly recommend it for entertaining children of any age.
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One Big Heart: A Celebration of Being More Alike Than Different
Written by Linsey Davis
Illustrated by Lucy Fleming
This is a very short interactive book that parents or teachers may use to discuss diversity with preschool and primary grade children. The author presents the material from a Christian viewpoint. Some families who reject that concept will need to explain or eliminate those parts of the story.
Children are asked to study the pictures and relate how we are all alike, make friendship bracelets, draw faces with different skin tones, and share their favorite foods. The heart activity demonstrates the love we feel within for all.
The book is a good starting point on the topic of multiculturalism.
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Many people place value on educational success. Whether you feel it’s important to attain socioeconomic status, increase earning power, or simply be more of a well-rounded person, there are many arguments for pro-school attitudes.
From the start of a child’s beginning in school, when they are in preschool or kindergarten, we can cultivate an attitude of success, growth, and eagerness in them.
As they grow, their own success will depend more and more on themselves as they make their own choices. However, there are some things you can do to make it more likely they’ll succeed.
Routines and Daily Habits
For example:
Bodybuilders’ routines involve going to the gym each day.
A firefighter’s routine involves putting on gear and getting into the truck as quickly and safely as possible.
Police officers have routines when clearing a crime scene.
Garbage men have routines to pick up trash in the most methodical order as possible.
A routine for a child in school is no different. Explaining to your child that everyday professionals and jobs use routines is also important so they will understand the value in it.
The routine you choose for your child depends on your individual child, but basically involves setting aside a specific time of day and place for something related to their education.
What do successful school routines look like?
Consider these routines:
Completing homework everyday after school at the kitchen table
Writing down each subject’s homework in a daily journal or planner
Eating a healthy breakfast each morning with your student and discussing school
Asking your child about one or two important lessons they learned in school that day
Educational Check-In
While the singular job of a student is to go to school each day, the job of that student’s parent or caretaker is to help the student cultivate an attitude of learning. Despite the fact that we, as parents and guardians, have our own busy lives to deal with, it’s important to keep in mind that our children also are growing and learning.
There are many conversation starters revolving around school, and it is critical that parents set aside time each day to ask about school.
For example, you can ask:
What happened in school
How the school day went
What they learned
Whether anything was surprising
Or even what grades they got on tests
For older students, having a more in-depth conversation related to the transfer of educational knowledge to the real world is important.
Value of Report Card Grades
Some parents choose to motivate their children with rewards for good grades. While there are arguments for and against giving a child money for earning an “A” or a “B” on a report card, this can be done in a responsible way.
The basic idea is to motivate them with external rewards, but then phase it out as they grow older and the motivation comes from within themselves.
Overall, there are certainly many things you can do to jumpstart the excitement and energy that students have for school. With parenting, there are no right or wrong answers and you can even devise your own system for motivating your student for success.
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Family Means…:A children’s picture book about diversity, inclusion, and love
Written by Matthew Ralph
Illustrated by Badrus Soleh
This multicultural picture book reveals the plethora of family groups that may make a family. It includes families of different races, religions and abilities, including those with disabilities.
The author emphasizes the qualities that families share rather than the physical or surface differences. For example, families share activities, work as a team, learn from each other, cheer each other up, and love one another.
At the end of the book, there is a space for readers to interact by defining what family means to them and drawing a picture of their own family. A charming bedtime story or read aloud book for preschool and elementary school children, families, and teachers.
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HOW TO TELL WRITE AND MAKE UP A STORY: CHILDREN’S STORYTELLING LEARNING BOOK PART 1
Rose Press House
An interesting approach to teaching the art of storytelling. In Part 1 of this series, readers meet Tom, a 12 year old boy who loves listening to stories. Tom, his uncle, spends lots of time doing telling Tom stories. One day, Tom suggests that they change things up. He asks the boy to tell him a story. The boy is at a loss. He says he does not know how to do that.
Patiently, Tom guides the boy step by step. Through their conversation, he guides readers through the process. First, Tom decides on the main character and describes him. Then he sets a moral and theme for his story. The boy decides on a name for his story and develops an outline to put the details that support his character and theme in order. Then the boy writes a draft of the first part of his story and shows it to an adult to read. But the story is not finished. The boy needs to complete the transitions, details, and supplementary characters that will provide a resolution or completion of the story. That will be coming in Part 2.
I liked this casual approach using storytelling as a vehicle not only to develop communication skills, but also to teach the steps necessary to write an effective story. Many middle-grade students who have difficulty organizing both their ideas and putting them down on paper will enjoy this unique approach to oral and written storytelling.
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I Feel Anxious: Children’s Book About Overcoming Anxiety For Kids 4-8.
Written by Aleks Harrison
Illustrated by Ferlina Gunawan
Max is a little boy who feels overwhelmed and anxious. He is moving with his parents to a new town two states away. As he rides in the moving truck, worries crowd his mind. What will his new school be like? Will the new children like him? Who will be his teacher?
Max’s parents encourage him to draw and write about his feelings. That makes him feel better. Perhaps, things won’t be so bad.
Through beautiful illustrations and expressive language, Max calms his fears and reaches out to children who may find themselves in similar situations. Recommended for preschoolers and primary grade children.
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This well-written and organized book is a wonderful way to introduce elementary and middle-grade readers to the world of chemistry. Wissinger offers simple explanations with appropriate illustrations making the content clear and easy to comprehend.
The short book packs a ton of information in forty pages. Young scientists learn about matter, elements, atoms, DNA, X-rays, chemical reactions, the periodic table, and so much more. There is a brief history of the contributions by women in chemistry going way back to Cleopatra. The glossary adds additional information to explore. The tone is positive encouraging the young reader to embrace scientific exploration.
I am looking forward to reading more books in this new nonfiction science exploration series.
Thanks to the publisher for providing me an ARC to review, which I voluntarily chose to read and review with my honest opinions for no compensation.
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A very short book for preschoolers. This picture book teaches we may look different on the outside, but our uniqueness is also our strength. Cute illustrations that are multicultural and include disabilities.
Recommended for toddlers and preschoolers.
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A Letter to My Fifth Grade Self (The Diary of Janie Ray Book 2)
Written by Lila Segal
Janie Ray gets a diary from her mom as a gift. She has the same problems most fifth graders experience. Janie spends most of her time with her best friend, Sheila. But fifth grade is full of social anxiety. There are snobs, bullies, teacher problems and family adjustments.
One thing about Janie is very different. When she was seven, she found a medallion. Together with Sheila. she has developed a secret language. Soon they would find a connection to the medallion that would allow them to travel back in time. Janie would learn about the perils of interfering with events and the responsibility of being the keeper of the medallion.
The book is a coming of age novel, mixed with fantasy and preteen relationships. It moves along fairly quickly and ends with a cliffhanger that will lead to the next book in the series. I did not read the series books prior to this one and did not find that a problem.
Recommended for readers ages eight through twelve.
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Superheroes Wear Masks: A picture book to help kids with social distancing and covid anxiety
Written by Chris Stead
Illustrated by Yohan Priyankara
A young boy narrates this story. He explains why he does not like wearing a mask. He cannot recognize the faces of people, they look scary, and these masks are uncomfortable to wear.
When he has a fight with this parents about wearing a mask, they ground him. That gives him time to think about people he knows who wear masks to protect themselves at work, like a doctor, a fireman, a construction worker, and a chemist. That reassures him. Maybe protecting yourself from harm is just being careful and smart.
This book is a good choice for parents and teachers to use in explaining the necessity of masks during the pandemic and reassuring the fears of young children.
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September 5, 2021
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