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Back to school time looks a bit different this year. No matter what your school year looks like, get kids excited about learning with these fun back to school books for kids, and some great new school supplies from Crayola!
Standard Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a commission from purchases you make through the links in this post. I received copies of these books and products in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Imagine sitting down every day as a family to enjoy some quality family reading time together. Everyone rushes to snuggle up together and waits excitedly to start the story. Is this what happens in your home? Some days it may be. Other days it may be a bigger struggle. It definitely is in our house some days. If you long for the days of peaceful time reading to kids, but struggle to make it happen, then I am here to help. Today I’m sharing the most important tip for reading to kids.
Every family is different. And there are lots of great children’s books about diverse families that represent the many ways you can create a family. Today I wanted to share some of the newest kid’s books about families that we are enjoying.
Standard Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a commission from purchases you make through the links in this post. I received copies of these books in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Do your kids love Bluey? My daughter found it earlier this year and it has become one of our family’s favorite shows. It is not only hilarious and quotable, but it portrays a realistic family (even though they are dogs) and encourages dramatic play and imagination. We were so excited when we found out that Bluey toys were finally coming to the US. These are some of the ones that we are most looking forward to.
Picture your favorite reading spot. What makes it special? What helps you settle in for an afternoon of relaxing and reading? Today I am thrilled to share a list of amazing book themed candles that will transport you to your favorite reading nook, or even to your favorite literary places. These make great gifts for bookworms too!
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Do you struggle to get your kids excited about reading? There are a few reading “sins” that may affect a child’s love of reading. Find out how to fix these common mistakes while reading to kids.
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Fighting back when kids want to reread the same storyRereading the same book night after night can be exhausting for parents. You get tired of the same story and the same rhymes. You can repeat them without looking at the pages. While this may be annoying to you, hearing the same story over and over is actually really beneficial to kids.
Each time they hear the story, they pick up on more of the plot, the tone, the character development, the rhyme patterns, etc. They are able to start filling in some of the words on their own, especially if the text has a good rhyme. They will also be able to retell the story in their own way, which is an important skill to develop. Plus, the comfort of hearing a favorite story over and over again adds an emotional level to your reading time, which helps them tie reading to positive feelings.
So instead of forcing a new book on them every night, give in to the repeated stories. (Although I have been known to send certain books on vacation after a while, to be found again sometime later on).
Not letting kids read graphic novelsThere are a lot of people who believe that graphic novels aren’t “real books”. This is also common when discussing comic books. However, I completely disagree with this argument. Are they reading? Are they putting the screens away and reading stories on the page? Then don’t stress!
There are so many milestones and guidelines for kids and reading, that we often worry about what they “should” be reading. But as adults, we don’t exactly read what we “should” be reading all the time either! Sure we could only read the classics, or brilliant texts on philosophy or ethics, but sometimes we want to escape with a romance novel or a thriller too. Reading should be enjoyable. If we force kids to read what they “should” be reading and discount what they want to read, then they will grow to dislike reading as a whole.
Telling kids that memorizing a story isn’t reading
When it comes to TV time for my daughter, I have always been selective about what I let her watch. I was a Disney kid (still am!), and she is too now. We have branched out beyond Disney as she has grown up, but we still watch a lot of it. Lots of the shows she watches are based on some of our favorite characters from kids books. I am thrilled that there are so many TV shows based on children’s books that teach the same lessons I want her to learn, through the characters we have grown to love.
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Fans of Nancy Clancy will love seeing the vivacious character brought to life on screen, along with her loving family and her fun group of friends. Just like in the Fancy Nancy Books by Jane O’Connor, Nancy wants everything in her life to be fancy, and she does everything she can to make her life, and the life of those around her, magnificent. Both the show and the books introduce kids to lots of larger vocabulary words, and even some French words. My daughter uses lots of Nancy’s vocabulary in her everyday life now. I also appreciate how Nancy’s tries her best to make life “magnifique” for all those around her, and tries to see the best in every situation with the help of her family and friends.
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This series is a sequel to the original Magic School Bus TV show which was based on the classic series of Magic School Bus books by Joanna Cole. In the original series (which many parents may remember), Ms. Frizzle’s class goes on incredible field trips on the Magic School Bus and learns all about the world. In The Magic School Bus Rides Again, Ms. Frizzle hands the reins over to her sister Fiona Frizzle. Fiona has the same passion for learning and fantastical field trips as her sister. So she also takes the class on wild rides in the famed bus. My daughter loves the crazy trips that the class goes on. I love all of the topics they cover and the throwbacks to the show I loved as a kid (including a remake of the theme song by Lin Manuel Miranda).
Hamilton is coming to Disney+ and I don’t know about you, but I am excited! Whether you are a Broadway fan or not, chances are you know about the show and may even know some of the songs. And now we all have a chance to see the original cast perform it together. I will definitely be watching it, and I think there are lots of reasons why teens should watch Hamilton too!
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We went camping in tents and cabins a lot when I was a kid. My daughter has already shown an interest in going camping, but until we do go on our own trip, these camping toys and books for kids have helped us to pretend!
Standard Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a commission from purchases you make through the links in this post. I received copies of some of these books and products in exchange for my honest review. These are marked with an *. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
As a mom and former teacher, I am always on the lookout for great educational resources for families. So when we found KiwiCo subscription boxes, I was excited to try them out. After a year of trying out the Koala Crate for ages 2-4, we moved up to the Kiwi Crate for 5-8 year olds. And I am ready to share the truth about Kiwi Crates.
Standard Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a commission from purchases you make through the links in this post.
Every month, my daughter is excited to get her Kiwi Crate in the mail. We track it after it ships, and she takes guesses on what theme it will be about. When it does arrive, she immediately opens it up and we get started. I love the broad range of topics that we have had the opportunity to explore, as well as the skills she has been able to practice.
I have been impressed every time we have opened one of their boxes. The educational magazine includes an introduction to the topic through games, colorful cartoons, and fun facts. Not only does the magazine get my daughter interested in the topic with it’s cute illustrations and interesting explanations, but the parent guide walks us through the activities with easy to follow instructions. I love how easily the instructions are laid out in the guide. All of the components for each activity are also included, making it possible for us to start them right away.
The ActivitiesThe most impressive part of the Kiwi boxes for me as a parent are the smart ways that they create the activities. In one of the boxes, my daughter was supposed to paint wooden beads for friendship bracelets. The box included foam blocks and a dowel so she could paint the beads without holding them or rolling away. When she built a grasping tool, the instructions used stickers to hold the pieces together while she built it. All of these small details show just how much the people at Kiwi Co think about the activities and the kids who will be doing them.
The Product LinesI am thrilled that Kiwi Co offers so many product lines for different ages and skill levels. My daughter will be turning 5 soon, so I recently changed her subscription to the next level up. I was a little nervous that it would be too difficult for her, but she has really enjoyed it. The magazine has been a little more over her head than the last box, but it just encourages us to take it slowly.
One of the nice parts about the Kiwi Co boxes is that the things that kids create can often be used again and again. Some of the items that my daughter has made through our time with Kiwi Co is a rainbow handbag, an arcade claw game, a bear backpack, a glowing campfire, a xylophone, and a dinosaur costume. A day doesn’t go by where we don’t use one of the items that we have made.
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