Some more uber coolness from Steve Spangler, this time accompanied by his three sons!

Newspapers are made from trees and trees grow… so it only makes sense that you should be able to grow a newspaper tree.

Hey Spangler crew – that’s just awesome!!

The IlluStory Make Your Own Story Kit is a WONDERFUL gift for young children! That’s what this bookworm thinks, anyway! I bought one for my nephew last year and it was a HIT! He and his parents absolutely loved it! DJ got to make his very own book with his very own story and his very own pictures! How much cooler than that can it get?

Here is the description from the manufacturer:

Here’s your child’s opportunity to take their own story and drawings and turn them into a professionally typeset, hardbound book.This multi-award-winning activity kit allows any child to be the author of a 12-page, typeset, 7″ x 9″, hardbound book. Budding authors write, illustrate and design their book, then mail the manuscript to the publisher for publication. Imaginations will run wild illustrating and writing a story using the 10 washable markers and 18 special book pages included in the kit. Once complete, send everything to the publisher in the prepaid envelope (included). In just a few weeks, your child’s book arrives bound and ready to be added to the family library. Extra copies can be ordered for an additional cost and make thoughtful gifts for teachers, friends and family. IlluStory also offers an Internet production option that includes online drawing tools, backgrounds and stickers, allows for more words per page, and offers a choice of font styles and colors and faster production times at no extra cost. Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal Award Winner, Parents’ Choice Classic Award Winner, Family Life’s Best Learning Toy Award Winner. IlluStory Paper Sketching and Tracing Creations By You Arts and Crafts

Seriously, you have got to check this thing out! I only wish that IlluStory
had been around when my kids were little.

Wonder if they make a teenage version? Hmmm…

I know that so many parents out there are like me and really want to prepare their children for entering school. We want to get them ‘ready to learn’ before they get there – teaching them a few things ourselves along the way, giving them that good jumpstart they need to keep up and even get ahead.

Annette Yen, Susanne Myers, and Nicole Dean offer the perfect program to help you do that! I wish I’d known them when my kids were small! This is a wonderful and organized way for you to work with your child. I had a subscription to a service that would come in the mail once a month, but, there was nothing at all organized about it. This is a Kids Activity Calendar package that will take you and your child through the alphabet, with your child learning and you both having fun as you go!

There are so many wonderful resources available now that I would have just absolutely loved to have had when I was getting to ’school’ my kids. I had so much fun as it was, with their preschool years. I actually had a first grade teacher once ‘lecture’ me (gently, though) not to make the kids ‘do school’ after school – as they’d already been at school! Ha! I just love teaching preschool through third grade! I have no formal training, but, that age level curriculum just gets me so excited! I love going over it, searching for it, and planning it! I know I really would have had a BLAST with the Kids Activity Calendar!!

Straight from the Kids Acitivity Calendar website, here is everything that is included:

• Explore a new Letter each week.
• Crafts Of The Week That Reinforce The Letter.
• Games and Activities for You and Your Child to explore.
• Alphabet Radio – A Fun Weekly Audio All About One Of The Letters Of the Alphabet.
• Snack Ideas of The Week – Inspired by the week’s letter.
• Parenting Guide For You To Guide You Along The Way.
• Coloring Sheets and Worksheets for every single letter of the alphabet.

And just so you can really get a feel for what they are offering, they provide a free sample. It is the lesson the Letter “A” – you can get it, with its printables and more, right here ==> Free Lesson on Letter “A”

And the Kids Activity Calendar comes with a bonus, as well! It is an ebook called, “Helping Your Child Succeed In School”. It covers some of the different skills children develop early on, how and what they learn from us, activities that will prepare them for school, and a ready for school checklist. This book alone makes the package worth it to me – I was craving some guidance, instruction, and moral support as my kids started school. I was especially nervous as my first one went off to school. Oh boy – do I remember that feeling! And I just thought those toddler/preschool years were gonna last forever! The days were so long, you know? So it seemed that portion of our life would last a long time, too. It didn’t, though – Patrick went off to kindergarten long before Mommy was ready! Heh!

I can tell you, though, that when he got there he was a stellar student. His teachers were always grateful for the work we’d done at home before school ever started. They constantly told me what a joy he was to work with in their classroom. And the same was true for my other two, as well.

So I’d say this Activity Calendar is well worth the price! Heck, mine probably would have done even better had we had this! The ‘House of Lisa Preschool’ was nowhere near this neatly laid out and organized. LOL!

Click here for a fun, positive, and easy way to teach your child his ABC’s.

This is an incredible story – absolutely gave me chills!!

Now that is education! Totally awesome!

I have the most amazing, coolest, raddest business to tell you about today! Well, ok, I’m actually going to let MariLee tell you all the groovy details on this wonderful, kid-positive personalized book business. I’m so glad that I found out all about them and I’m even happier to share them with you!

Personal Child Stories

Author: MariLee Parrish

You have an important learning tool for your pre-schoolers right in your own home: Your Photos. Learn how to turn them into an interative learning experience for your child.

“Research tells us that the more exposure to reading materials children have, the earlier they will read and comprehend” says Shara Lawrence-Weiss, owner of Mommy Perks and Personal Child Stories.

Shara has developed an amazing learning tool for children of all ages. After her young son was diagnosed with glaucoma and had to have his eye removed, her mother suggested that she create a personal book for her son to help him understand all the changes in his life.

Shara searched for a book that might help, but found nothing. That’s when she decided to create her own.

Shara created two books to help her son through this adjustment period. The books had photos from her own personal collection showing her son, family members and friends that also needed to wear glasses, a photo of his prosthetic eye and potential hazards for her son to avoid. She had each book laminated and bound.

“I read the books to my son daily,” Shara says. “They impacted his behavior dramatically and we soon passed through that season of our lives…and into another. When our son entered preschool, I requested that his teacher read the prosthetic eye story to the class – in order to open up the lines of communication between my son and the other students.”

Shara goes on to say “By second grade, all of my son’s friends were well aware of his situation; so much so that it no longer mattered to any of them. It was old news.”

These books were an invaluable tool in the life of Shara’s son and much can be learned by her example. Do you have a loved one that is going through a difficult situation or having a hard time adjusting to a new change in his or her life? Why not create a personlized book for your child with your own photos. If you do not have the time or materials to do this on your own, contact Shara at Mommy Perks or Personal Child Stories for more information.

Sammy the Bookworm - How adorable is she?

Each child’s personalized, interactive story will be laminated and coil bound and will be theirs to read at home or to share with others: at school, play group, preschool, day care, family gathering, etc.

“PCS encourages parents to put books in their children’s hands from the start and to offer personal stories and books containing photos of the child – for the most beneficial reading experience possible,” says Shara.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/childhood-education-articles/personal-child-stories-1225494.html
About the Author: MariLee Parrish is an author, freelance musician and work-from-home mom. MariLee is the founder of ReallyWorkingFromHome.Com