Articles tagged Book Lists
In most of my life roles, I can feel overwhelmed by the information on how to be or do them better, how we can achieve that ideal balance where all parties (kids, friends, coworkers, and family members) feel heard, valued, and bolstered as individuals and also “team” members. No where do, I think, we as … Continued
Tips on teaching kids empathy and kindness pop up everywhere. Recently, my daughter, our dog, and I participated in the Committee on Temporary Shelter’s (COTS) fundraising walk, a perfect opportunity to find out more about how “fundraising” connects with kindness and empathy in an eight-year-old mind. I did not involve her in the actual fundraising – I set … Continued
General / Book Recommendations
Our good friend Jane Knight at Bear Pond Books in Montpelier has done it again! Here is her list of recommended children’s and young adult books for this holiday season. Gift Ideas You’ve all asked for more Harry Potter “stuff” and this is the year for that! British artist Jim Kay has been commissioned to illustrate … Continued
By Caroline Jones This past Sunday, I was driving back from Maine and passing the time in traffic with the wonderful podcast “This American Life”. One of the episodes, “The Birds & The Bees”, explored the complexities of explaining all kinds of difficult issues to young children. W. Kamau Bell, a comedian and father, was … Continued
I was caught off guard by a recent Twitter conversation started by Shannon Hale, author of the Newbery Honor book Princess Academy and many others. The powers that be at this school decided that regardless of her qualifications as a presenter, Hale was for girls – and boys wouldn’t be interested. … Continued
My daughter chose Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s Farm from the school’s free book bin. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle takes to her farm children whose behavior overwhelms their parents and cures them of their bad habits with magic and hard work. When I first read the book, I thought not too highly of the parents, but in light of a having six year old … Continued
General / If you're a parent and...
New research from Harvard’s Making Caring Common Project offers suggestions on how to raise kind children. I read this with interest because recently, in a deep conversation about our strengths and weaknesses as parents, I shared with a friend that my biggest hope for my child is she be kind. As parents of only children, these hopes are … Continued
General / If you're a parent and...
Today is the last day of school – let summer vacation begin! Planning child care, camps, vacations, work obligations, and family visits has been a three month process. And we all know that despite these best-laid plans, our carefully structured calendar will be rocked by the unforeseeable – beach days interrupted by afternoon thunderstorms or … Continued
General / Book Recommendations / If you're a parent and...
I love a good story. But making them up on the spot doesn’t come naturally to me. I dread when my child asks “tell me a story.” She usually asks when I feel least creative – driving to school, waiting in the doctor’s office, or sitting in her bed in the middle of the night after … Continued
General / Book Recommendations
Happy Friday! We’re digging out after Vulcan dumped two feet of fresh snow over Vermont. Which means all this weekend we’ll be doing our two favorite activities: reading and skiing. Here are some clips from the last two weeks. Meredith found a lot happening in Ohio to help third graders pass reading tests: When more … Continued
CLiF Spotlight / Book Recommendations
Here’s a peek behind the scenes in the CLiF office. Julia is busy assembling a huge book order for CLiF’s fall programs through our partner First Book. It’s a thoughtful process. Lots of kids in New Hampshire and Vermont are interested in hunting, animals, and nature, so she’s including Tracking and Reading Sign by Len McDougall … Continued
General / Book Recommendations
With the promise of summer weather on the horizon, I’ve started to contemplate fun ways to bring our reading outdoors on warm, sunny days. Luckily with the world of Pinterest and creative blogs, I found a wealth of ideas for summer literacy activities. Unfortunately, children that don’t read and write during the summer months experience … Continued
General / Book Recommendations
People, it’s almost over!!! Winter is almost over! I did not learn this from the Weather Channel, the Farmer’s Almanac, Punxsutawney Phil or the calendar. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel because I know that Sunday is… OPENING DAY OF BASEBALL SEASON!!!! Nothing says summer like the roar of the … Continued
General / Book Recommendations
At our house no one is ever hungry, they are “staaarving!” No one is ever tired, they are “exhaaaausted!” That’s how we roll. To just say things straight would be “sooo incredibly booooring!” And we are not just prone to hyperbole either, we like all types of colorful language, especially idioms. Idioms like… Quit dilly-dallying … Continued
General / Book Recommendations
Time magazine recently reported on “Why Math Is the Hot New Bedtime Reading.” WHAT? Everyone knows how we here at CLiF feel about books and reading. And I have a particular soft spot for the soothing, relaxing, entertaining bedtime read. I mean, I have been reading my kids into a sleepy stupor for as long … Continued
General / Book Recommendations
A few months ago I tasked our readers with an important assignment: help me find books that I can read repeatedly without losing my sanity. For those of you who missed my first blog post, feel free to read it here. The gist of my request was that I now have a (just-about-in-only-one-week-where-did-the-time-go) two-year-old who has … Continued
Are you familiar with Patricia Polacco? I hope you are. I have been in love with her beautiful, funny, moving, and meaningful books for years. My all time favorite is The Bee Tree in which a little girl, with the help of her grandfather and some bees, learns that the “adventure, knowledge, and wisdom of … Continued
General / Book Recommendations
We all know the power books can have. They can persuade, instruct, entertain, stimulate, educate, amaze, etc., etc., etc. But can they make it snow? Probably not all by themselves, but maybe with our help. Just maybe. Remember the old “Think Snow” slogan? Well, this is exactly the time of year to pull it out … Continued
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