Book Review: The Thanksgiving Story

"The Thanksgiving Story" by Alice Dalgliesh. Illustrated by Helen Sewell. A book for third to fourth graders. It's true there isn't a lot of Thanksgiving books in the library compared to other books you can check out, but I would pass on this book anyway if you found it. You do learn information about the pilgrims but it was given in a boring manner. I found it so dull I took a look at the copyright date and wasn't surprised it said 1954. Overall this book could have been more exciting. Nowadays there are writers and illustrators who make learning about history fun. I have to state it was noted in the author's notes that the text and pictures in this book were purposely made simple. I got the point- it was a simpler time when the Pilgrims lived in America. But unfortunately I still thought the pictures were blah and text was just plain humdrum. This is one book that can go to the book sale to buy new library books.

A Thanksgiving Arts and Craft Project: Candle Centerpiece

What you need: Styrofoam the size of a rectangular brick. Orange or green paint. Paint brush. Three tapered candles. Foliage from yard like autumn leaves, a twig with berries …

What to do: Paint Styrofoam. Let dry. Stick candles in row in the middle of it. Place foliage around base.
If you light candles make sure when they melt they don’t get too close to Styrofoam or foliage. To be safe this project should be for decoration only.

Parenting Article: Qualities to being a Good Parent

Qualities to being a Good Parent Part 1

Someone asked me what I thought were the most important qualities/attributes to being a good parent. I thought about it and came up with a list of ten.

1)Above all Love Your Child.
Love is an action not just mere words. Love should not be confused with spoiling a child. You also should not have to pick which you love more, your spouse or your child. Each relationship is separate. Besides it is like comparing apples to oranges. And remember your child is a separate entity from you. Just because you like baseball does not mean they have to.

2)Patience.
Especially when you’ve had a hard day and your child is being extra trying.

3)Kindness.
Be kind and you will get kindness in return. (But maybe not the same day.)

4)Empathy. For your child and others.
When you are empathetic you are displaying compassion and understanding. A big thanks to all parents who do this.

5)Caring. For family and society.
One way to teach your child to care is by doing good works for others. And I do not
mean just forking money over to a charity for a tax break. I mean giving your time. A child is more likely to help with worthy causes now and later in life if
they witness their parents doing so.

6)Consistency.
Children like to be safe. Consistency in rules, behavior, how you act, etc. gives them security.

7)The ability to give consequences and stick to them.
Some parents have problems being the heavy. Society needs your cooperation here. One day your child will be living on their own and among us. Every society appreciates good citizens.

8)Control your temper.
Calm parenting is much more effective. Yelling and throwing a tantrum ruins your creditability.

9)Teach your child how to fit in society properly.
By this I mean teaching your child good hygiene, good manners, how to get along with others and how to make friends. Some children are shy so it is especially important to show them how to make friends.

10)Take an interest in what your child likes and dislikes.
Even if you are not very good at sports but your child is, you can still enjoy sports together. You can watch a baseball game together or GO TO THEIR HOME GAMES if they play a sport. And you can always find time for a tea party. As far as taking an interest in what a child does not like, an example of this: if they do not like teddy bears why would you keep giving them one?

Movie Review: Madagascar

Movie Title: Madagascar. Animation film. Rated PG. It's an okay film. Not great, not bad. It has its moments. I expected Madagascar to be better from its trailers.
Story line: A zebra at New York's Central Park zoo makes a break for it. His three friends, a hippo, giraffe, and lion, go after him. The animals are all caught and returned to the zoo. An animal rights group, thinking the animals escaped because they don't like being in captivity, get the animals sent back to their homeland via boat. On route home an accident occurs and the crates carrying the four friends falls in the ocean. The animals end up in Madagascar. There they have to learn to get along to survive. The lion (voice of Ben Stiller) and the zebra (voice of Chris Rock) are the best characters in the movie.

Book Review: 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving- 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey. A truly amusing Thanksgiving picture book, written like 'Twas the Night Before Christmas as if it were an ode to it. Mr. Pilkey even writes about eight turkeys with comical names like the reindeers in 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. I highly recommend 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving. It's jolly good fun.

Children and Verbal and Non-verbal Communication

People communicate in different ways. They express how they feel verbally and non-verbally. Verbal expression is telling someone how you feel. "Please don't say that. That hurts my feelings." Non-verbal expression is showing with your face and/or body movements how you feel. Teaching kids to watch facial expressions and body language in others is important. Let's say your child takes the ball away from a classmate because they’re mad at how the handball game is going. The classmate might hunch their shoulders and look sad because of this. Or give your child an angry look. This is non-verbal expression of how they feel about the matter. They're not happy. When this happens have your child: Stop. Look. Focus. They are to stop what they're doing. Look to see how their actions are making someone feel. Then focus on their behavior. They can make things better by giving the ball back and saying, "Sorry, I took the ball. Go ahead, it's your turn." Paying attention to others feelings is how you keep friends.

Birthday Fun

For a special birthday your child will remember for years to come. Wrap five small presents. Hide them where your child will find them as they go about their day. Example: Put a present in their toothbrush drawer, their shirt drawer, inside their shoe, inside their backpack, on their seat in the car, tie it to the dog leash if they walk the dog… If they don’t find a present where you put it, take the present and put it in a spot they will find it, such as, under their bedcovers.