Board Books - not just for babies

 Board books are works of art in the hands of children.  Usually colorful illustrations accompany simple text.  This is what makes them perfect for early readers.

 Want to encourage a toddler or preschooler to get a bath? Read a book like this where different animals get different kinds of baths and pair with an animals.  Let them take the animals into the bath with them.  Clean the animals. Clean yourself.  It's a parent win!

 Board books are great for teaching early concepts like counting and letter sounds.  One Tiger is thee perfect counting book!

 Add animals to any book for kiddos to get excited about storytime and reading.  Someday, when I decide to go get a PhD, I am going to write about how making characters from a book tangible to children helps them to comprehend and retain the book more completely.  And, hey, how cute is this Schleich Bear?  When children have props, they can later act out or retell the story.

Make the story come alive.  Preschoolers love the book Dinosaur Roar!  let them retell it with their favorite dinosaurs.

Things with Wings

There's a game we like to play all the time in the car.  Today is was 'things with wings".  G named all the things she could think of that had wings.  It's a great exercise in association and classification.   I made this board on polyvore.com, but we have made collages of like items or index card on a ribbon to take in the car or even a small photo book (you know those cheap ones at the dollar store? Excellent for making mini books for kids!).  
Have a fun & playful day!
 Mel

Love Notes for Kids

I am not a perfect mom.

I'm not.  By no stretch of the imagination will I win a Mother of the Year contest.  Being a mom is hard.  Being a mom of two teenage girls - it's hard.  Being a mom of a child any age, at any stage - it's hard. But being a mom also makes me happy, so unbelievably so. 

One thing that I know that I am good at when being a mom is encouraging,  My Grandma Helen always wrote cards for EVERY occasion - birthday, Christmas, if you had a car accident (not kidding. She sent me a card after I wrecked my first car).  She was a woman of Faith, a true Christian, an encourager through and through.  I think that's where I get it.

I leave notes for everybody - my high schooler, my college kid, my husband, nieces and nephews, friends, and family.  That's what I do.  It's my thing.  I am sure that it'll be on my gravestone - Mel sent a ton of cards.

This week is Valentine's Week.  Give a card on Valentine's Day, but do it on a Tuesday or a Friday - any day!

 Say "Thanks for being a great kid" or...

Today's a great day to have a great day - one of my favorite sayings from Joanna Gaines of HGTV's Fixer Upper.

Any day's a great day to encourage your little ones (or even your grown up ones!) What a great way to build self confidence and give them that little boost to get through the day.

Have a Fun & Playful day
Mel