November 9 is National Young Readers Day, founded in 1989 as a special day to recognize the joys and benefits of reading and encourage parents and their young children to read together. To commemorate, I want to take a trip back to my childhood and explore the books that made a positive impact on me as a young reader, from the very first book I ever read by myself to the Newbery winners and book series that I escaped into in my grade school years, in the hope that kids and their parents will find something new here to read or something old to return to.
I started reading by memorizing, then connecting the words I knew by heart to the words that were on the page. The first book that I memorized was an illustrated edition of “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” more commonly known as “The Night Before Christmas,” by Clement Clarke Moore, which famously tells the story of Saint Nicholas and his eight reindeer bringing gifts and merriment to a family’s house on Christmas Eve. Continue reading “Young Readers Day”
A crisp chill in the air, crunchy leaves underfoot, chattering squirrels gathering nuts for the long winter ahead…
There’s no better time to enjoy a hike or a nature walk than fall! Months of blistering hot Missouri summer kept me inside with a good book and a cold drink, but this cooler weather beckons me back to the great outdoors.
Photo via Pexels.
My partner and I have been exploring all of the amazing green spaces and hiking trails the Columbia area has to offer. On this particular hiking trip, we explored the Shooting Star Trail at Rock Bridge Memorial State Park. Even a visit to your local playground, a stroll around the neighborhood or a quiet afternoon in the backyard can provide great ways to share the joys of autumn with your child.
Having a mission in mind before you venture out can help keep reluctant kiddos engaged in your outdoor excursion. Look high in the trees and low on the ground to appreciate even the smallest members of the ecosystem. Slowing down and taking in the world around you is an easy way to practice mindfulness, too! Continue reading “Autumn Scavenger Hunt”
This fun and easy project encourages small children to use their fine motor skills and creativity to make a small hanging to celebrate autumn. Small children can sort the leaves by color, shape or texture before attaching them to the paper wreath form. You may enjoy adding colorful leaves you find on a nature walk or tracing your child’s hand onto a piece of paper and adding it to your wreath. Finish your wreath off with a bow and enjoy the results!
Are you sweating yet? If you’re the parent or caregiver of a young person who is entering puberty, this topic probably keeps you up at night. Discussing sex and reproduction can be extremely nerve-wracking for both kids and adults — but it doesn’t have to be! I’ve compiled a list of popular puberty books for children that you can use as a conversation starter about entering adulthood.
“Sex Is a Funny Word” Colorful and inclusive illustrations, paired with short texts, make this a great choice for the curious kid. This primer into the world of body positivity and awareness should ideally come as soon as a child starts to experience adult feelings and their bodies begin the first stages of puberty. There are some illustrations of naked bodies, but this book doesn’t delve deeply into the specifics of puberty transitions. The easy, simple text makes this a good choice for reading together with an adult or reading independently as a conversation starter. Recommended for ages 7+.Continue reading ““The Talk” and Other Awkward Stuff”
Helping mothers, helping babies
In many countries, as many as 1 in 5 new mothers experience some type of perinatal mood and anxiety disorder. These illnesses frequently go unnoticed and untreated, often with tragic and long-term consequences to both mother and child.
No one is immune
Women of every culture, age, income level and race can develop perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Symptoms can appear any time during pregnancy and the first 12 months after childbirth. There are effective and well-researched treatment options available to help women recover. Continue reading “Support for Maternal Mental Health”
As adults, we don’t always understand things from a child’s perspective. This is particularly true when it comes to moving to a new home. We forget how hard it is to say goodbye to dear friends, familiar surroundings and comfortable routines. In the book, “Paper Planes,” by Jim Helmorea, Mia and Ben are best friends, who love to make paper airplanes. But when Ben and his family move away, Mia struggles with her feelings of sadness. At the same time, she wonders if Ben is lonely too. In “Bad Bye, Good Bye,” by Deborah Underwood, a young child uses rhyming words to express their feelings about moving: “Bad day, bad box, bad mop, bad blocks.”
Maybe it’s a bad case of the sniffles, a runny nose, a scratchy throat or a dreaded short-term fairytale curse? Either way, we’ve got some great reads to help your young ones navigate their sick day woes.
In this fun sick day classic from David Shannon, poor Camilla Cream is worried about pleasing everybody. Camilla loves lima beans, but she decides not to eat lima beans at school in case the other kids make fun of her. Once she makes this decision, Camilla suddenly comes down with a bad case of stripes. No one knows where it came from or how to cure it. As the case of stripes gets worse, Camilla is changing at every person’s suggestion. It cannot be stopped until Camilla decides to just be herself. Continue reading “Sick Day Picture Books”
For several years now I have participated in the Teal Pumpkin Project. The Teal Pumpkin Project started in 2014 and is the brainchild of the Food and Allergy Research & Education Organization. This is a wonderful movement to make trick-or-treating on Halloween safer for children with food allergies. To do this, Teal Pumpkin Project participants have non-candy treats to give out. Houses with these allergy-safe options display a sign or a painted pumpkin to let trick-or-treaters know safe treats are available.
Not only does the Teal Pumpkin Project make Halloween safer, but it also makes it healthier. When given the choice of a treat or toy, many children will choose the toy, especially if there are a few options to choose from. Parents are often grateful for a baby-safe option as well; something they can give to a little one in a stroller without worrying about choking or a melty mess.
Did you know thatour state lies on the ancestral landsof the Chickasaw nation, the Otoe-Missouria tribe, the Illini tribe, the Osage nation, the Ioway tribe and the Quapaw tribe? Because the federal government does not formally recognize any Native American communities currently living in Missouri, we often forget about this part of our state’s history and culture. It’s important to remember that this is the direct result of forced removal and violence at the hands of the U.S. government. Entire thriving nations were forcefully confined to reservations in neighboring states like Kansas and Oklahoma and stripped of their land, language, culture and most basic rights. Continue reading “Honoring Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2021”
The time of Halloween and all things scary is upon us again, so as a sequel to a blog post I wrote last year, here are some more books that will hopefully deliver a horror fix to older grade-school readers who love being creeped out and terrified:
Starting furthest back in the past, we have Ray Bradbury’s darkly poetic classic, “Something Wicked This Way Comes,” about two boys who witness the arrival of a strange carnival into their small Midwestern town and discover the dark secrets it holds. It’s shelved in our adult fiction section but is appropriate for older kids. Bradbury’s only novel written for children, “The Halloween Tree,” is (as the title suggests) another great seasonal classic about a group of boys who go out trick-or-treating and encounter the mysterious Mr. Moundshroud, who shows them the history and the meaning of Halloween. Continue reading “More Scary Books for Older Kids”
I started reading by memorizing, then connecting the words I knew by heart to the words that were on the page. The first book that I memorized was an illustrated edition of “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” more commonly known as “The Night Before Christmas,” by Clement Clarke Moore, which famously tells the story of Saint Nicholas and his eight reindeer bringing gifts and merriment to a family’s house on Christmas Eve. Continue reading “Young Readers Day”
This fun and easy project encourages small children to use their fine motor skills and creativity to make a small hanging to celebrate autumn. Small children can sort the leaves by color, shape or texture before attaching them to the paper wreath form. You may enjoy adding colorful leaves you find on a nature walk or tracing your child’s hand onto a piece of paper and adding it to your wreath. Finish your wreath off with a bow and enjoy the results!
