Did you know the number one determiner of success when a child enters formal schooling is the number of hours he has been read aloud to by someone close to him? The simple act of reading to your child will make all the difference in the world!
Best Easy Readers for Kids
I found this from Books and Stuff which is the blog for Westerville Library and they give their perspective on the winners at the bottom of this post. Benny and Penny in the Big No-No by Jeffrey Hayes is the 2010 Winner. The information on the Geisel 2010 winners is from the ALSC (The Association for Library Service to Children):
7 Ideas for Social/Emotional Learning
From a Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) point of view, the most important consideration at the start of the new school year is to create positive feelings and optimism about school. This has many practical implications for both educators and parents.
Fun Math App for Kids: Math Ninja
My five-year-old son has been hogging my iPhone and the family iPad all last week while we were on vacation. He loaded tons of “free” games which ended up costing us $10 — (my husband: “Does he know how to read ‘free’?” Me: “Yes, he reads it as ‘fee.’ Hence the charges!) — and we had to yell at him to turn off the screens. Except when we noticed he was playing Math Ninja. True, he’d try to cheat and slyly ask us what 9 + 6 is but we were on to him. It turns out to be a fun game for all my kids including my 10-year-old and 8-year-0ld, both girls. And, I turn out to be bad at it.
Ugly Colors board book — edgy but cute!
I have to hand it to Random House because it’s a brilliant play to take the Uglydolls and convert them into books — isn’t it usually the other way around — with an edgy attitude which I can only describe as slightly gross (to appeal to boys) and slightly sweet (to appeal to girls).
Best Middle Grade Books for with Female Protagonists
I do love a good Top 10 List and this chapter book children’s book list for ages 10-14 (middle-school-girl-ish-give-or-take-a-year-or-two) from ChristinaReads is a really good one with her childhood favorites!
New Erica S. Perl Book: Dotty
Imagine my surprise when I read her new book, Dotty:
There are no chickens involved whatsoever!
The book does not rhyme!
The theme of the book tackles twin issues of growing up and fitting in.
The book celebrates The Teacher Who Makes a Difference!