Firstly, I want to thank Mrs. B. for highlighting the above website! It's one of my favorite resources for Pagan parents. The free, downloadable ezine is pack full of fun, seasonal pagan activities, stories, info...you name it! I hope you all check it out! The November 2010 edition is now out, and I know you'll love it as much as I do!
Samhain
So the veil is thinning, and this weekend will mark the turning of the wheel of the year to what we (as pagans) consider the beginning of another year. Naturally, because it is a wheel, there is no real beginning or end. There are so many resources online and in bookstores and libraries for people to look up the history and meaning that different people might attribute to this time of year. I think that many pagans tend to agree that the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead is the thinnest during this time of year. This means that communing with passed loved ones is less restricted, and tends to be a time when many people remember those who have passed on. It's also the end of the harvest, and therefore a time of thanksgiving. Like many others, we use this time of year to celebrate our harvest and be thankful for the bounty that has come forth from the earth.
Like many, we will be dressing up and going out trick-or-treating. I promise that I will have a new camera by then, so I'll be able to post pics of not only our costumes, but also of my fall crops (kale, green onions, finishing up our carrots and still growing herbs).
Homeschooling
For some reason, my son has been very interested in Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar lately. We went on the dltk-kids website to download the printable sequence cards they have. Then, as we read the book, my son puts the cards in the order that they come in the story. He also loves to watch the video of the book.
If you don't own the DVD, you can watch it on youtube here. To make the sequence cards a bit more sturdy, I printed them on cardstock and then glued each one to contruction paper (which gives a nice "frame" to each picture as well).
These cards are great for helping young children work on putting a story in sequential order. What comes first? Next? And then? We have even started working with "What happens on Monday? Then Tuesday? Then Wednesday?" so he is starting to get used to the days of the week in a way that hadn't really registered with him before!
Sometimes people ask me how our son (and his older sister before him) became so interested in stories and books, so I thought I'd put a few of those thoughts here!
1.) We have always read to the kids. We may not remember/have time to do it every day, but when we sit down to read, it is quality time and the kids love that!
2.) We have many, many books out readily available! I have several shelves of board books in the midst of the children's playing area. So long as you keep an eye on them when they are toddlers, you can ensure that they do not make a habit of putting the books in their mouths. Once they get over that impulse, they will naturally grab books as part of their play! They love the colorful pictures, and will sit and flip the pages of the books.
3.) We visit our local library. When there's an entire room of colorful books, naturally the kids will pick them up and look at them! Story times at local libraries also enhance a love of reading in children.
4.) We visit online stories (in both audio and video format), especially during quiet time in the afternoons. When kids naturally have that impulse to slow down, it's a great time for a quiet story!
5.) We ourselves read! Our children see us reading books, and I think that makes a big impression upon them! We also visit bookstores like Borders regularly (VERY regularly! LOL!)
It's amazing how simple that is, and yet many people do not offer books for their children! (The books with "regular" pages are up a bit higher, so that the pages do not get ripped by the littlest ones. Besides, we want those to stay in great shape for us to read to/with them!)
Books, reading and story telling is just a part of our lives! We're also fans of NPR radio shows as well. We really love the format of hearing a good story, and that lifestyle naturally rubs off on our kids. There are so many little ways to incorporate reading into your kids lives! Keep a small basket of books in the car! Bring books when you are going somewhere that the kids might need something to do. Pop in at the library some lazy Saturday afternoon for an hour to check out a few new books (just don't forget to bring them back in a timely manner!). Also, don't forget that many libraries have audio MP3 formats for audio books! Kids LOVE listening to stories, and kids ages 3 and older usually can be responsible to listen to an ipod (with supervision). Above all: Happy Reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment