Usborne books, Education, Kids/Teens, home business, fundraisers SmartyPantsNews blog Raising A Reader At Home Birth through Age 3 Ages 4 - 7 Ages 8 - 12 Educational Workshop Article - Why Babies Need Books Children's Learning Styles Lissa Explains It All Raising a Reader at Home - Birth through Age 3 ~ Read aloud from the moment you bring your new baby home from the hospital. Our cloth books are wonderful for your youngest reader who needs the soft touch. I just love Baby Dinosaur and the newest one is Baby Monster. ~ We have the new Animals, Babies or Toys Baby Flash Cards for 6 months and up. These are sturdy double-sided flashcards that wipe clean. Just the right size for little hands. ~ At 9 months we offer Touchy Feely Books. That's Not My Pony and Hide and Seek Bunnies are some of our favorites. Give your baby time to look at the pictures, which should be held about eight to ten inches from his/her face. ~At 1 year your little one will love to learn his/her numbers and letters with 2 wonderful Puzzle Books. My favorite is 1-2-3 Jigsaw Book. Your child will have fun learning how to count by putting together a train that has each section numbered. This is an awesome learning tool. ~ Stephen Cartwright is the illustrator for our Usborne Farmyard Tales for our youngest readers. In his books, a duck is hidden on each of the pages throughout the book. The children will learn to search for the familiar duck while you read the story. This encourages the baby's attention; focusing on the book and interacting with the story. ~ Noisy Animals ages 2 and up is a Farmyard Tales book. While you read, your child can press the sidebar on the book to hear the noises you would hear on a farm and find the duck on each page. ~ Obtain a public library card for your child and as soon as he/she is old enough, begin taking him/her to library story hours. Many libraries offer pajama party story hours for working families. ~ Our First Experiences Series is wonderful for first visits to the Dentist, Doctor, Hospital, School, Plane or even moving to a new home. Helping your child become comfortable with these first experiences will give them confidence. ~ Teach your children to play in books instead of in front of the TV or video games. This is something that is habit forming at an early age. They will never be bored again when they start to discover how much fun reading is. ~ Play rhyme, rhythm, and sound games with your child. Look for objects in pictures or around the house that begin with a specific letter of the alphabet. 123 (Exclusive) and ABC are some of the earliest in our rhyming books. ~ Give your child a jump start on reading - try our new Phonics Flashcards for ages 3 and up. ~ Create a special family tradition by giving books for birthdays and Christmas gifts. Have family members make wish lists on our website www.PlanetSL3.com. This will make holiday and birthday shopping much easier for you. ~ Personalize your gifts to last a lifetime. Inscribe a special message in the front cover of the book and affix a bookplate that says "When I Was Three" (or whatever the age). During the year paste birthday cards, postcards, awards, or pictures in various places in the books that commemorate the year's happenings. As your children get older, they can write short descriptions to go with the mementoes. By the time your child graduates from high school she will have 3 dozen special books filled with remembrances. Top Of Page Raising a Reader - Ages 4 - 7 ~ Read aloud every single day! ~ Create a place in your home for reading. Both adults and children need special places to keep their books and to curl up and read. Respect this need and encourage your children to learn how to spend time independently with books as well as care for their own books. ~ Read books that ask questions; read books that teach direction, numbers, time, and opposites; and read books that teach words and ideas. Every book you read is a teaching opportunity. ~ The Learning Palette is a wonderful tool from learning the alphabet and counting to algebra and physics. This tool uses cards that fit the universal base and have 12 in each pack. This is offered as a set for big savings! ~ At 4 years old children are interested in jobs people do and we offer books that explain some popular jobs. Choose from; Fred The Firefighter, Frank The Farmer, Daisy The Doctor, Tessa The Teacher, Vicky The Vet and Sam The Chef. ~ Our Phonics Readers series is wonderful for 4 years and up. My favorites are Big Pig On A Dig, Ted In A Red Bed and Frog On A Log. ~ Farmyard Tales Readers 4 years and up will help your beginner reader. This series has 2 reading levels - one for beginners and one for advanced readers. These books will span many years of learning to read. ~ Allow your child to select some of his/her own books to check out at the public library. Don't discourage your child from choosing a book you've already read or even checked out the week before. Children like to hear favorites read over and over. ~ One of my favorite series is the lift the flap series. What Happens To Your Food is a popular one that shows how your food travels through your body. Kids will discover where the crabs go under the sand in At The Beach and Animal Homes will show what different animal's homes look like whether it is in the pocket of a Kangroo or under the ground for a mouse. ~ Sticker Dolly Dressing Books are perfect for any little girl ages 4 - 8. 24 pages with 10 pages of stickers that your child can use to dress and decorate each double-page scene. Choose from Ballerinas, Dolls, Fairies or Princesses. These books are $8.99 each and will give your little girl hours of fun. A perfect Birthday Party gift too! ~ 1001 Things To Spot books are great. Our newest one is 1001 Pirate Things to Spot for $9.99 - great for 6 years and up. ~ While I am talking about Pirates, your little Pirate will love our new Pirates Treasure Chest Kid Kit ages 6 and up. Just like our Dinosaurs Excavation Kid Kit you chop away at a block of clay rock. For the Dinosaurs you will find dinosaur bones and for the Pirates you will find the treasure box and treasure. Each comes with a book and everything you need to complete the project. ~ Make a recipe taken from one of your child's favorite Usborne cookbooks. Children's Book of Baking is for 8 years and up. For the 6 year old try our Cooking Cards that are double-sided and wipe clean. This is a great way to spend quality interactive time making snacks or meals together. ~ If your child hates school he/she might be falling behind in their reading or math. This is the most important time to help your child love to read and learn math. We have an extensive Beginners Reading selection that covers everything from Caterpillers and Butterflies, Horses and Ponies, How Flowers Grow, Castles and Weather. Some of our First Reading books are The Dinosaur Who Lost His Roar and The Enormous Turnip. We also offer some books with a read along CD with sound effects. These include The Billy Goat's Gruff, Pinocchio and Treasure Island. Sticker Math books ages 5 and up are great to help with Taking Away, Adding, Fractions and Times Tables to name a few. ~ Provide writing materials and give your children an opportunity to create their own stories. They may have to explain them to you since the scribbles will frequently be unintelligible to an adult. Top Of Page Raising Readers - Ages 8 - 12 ~ Keep on reading aloud. Have a book for dessert instead of pie and ice cream! ~ With our Internet-linked books on Whales and Dolphins, Birds, Bugs, Space, Castles, Dinosaurs, Birds and The World of Shakespeare to name a few are great for ages 8 and up. All with safe updated internet links. ~ If your daughter loves Ballet then we offer a great series called Ballerina Dreams for ages 10 and up. This is a series that is about 3 ballerinas and shows their struggles and how they overcome obstacles to achieve their dreams. ~ If it is horses your child is interested in then Sandy Lane Stables is a perfect choice. A series of full length fiction stories about the children who live and ride at the stables. ~ For ages 10 and up we offer True Adventure Stories that include; True Escape Stories, True Spy Stories, True Stories of the First World War and many others that will excite your older reader. ~ The Classics are wonderful. Some of my favorites are Jane Eyre, A Tale Of Two Cities, Wuthering Heights and Huckleberry Finn. ~ Read about Kings and Queens, Inventors, Explorers and Famous Women. Look at men and women whose discoveries and achievements have changed the world. Winston Churchill, Napoleon, Martin Luther King Jr., Florence Nightingale and Anne Frank to name some of our great Biography Books from our Famous Lives Series. Find anything that will keep your older children reading and learning. ~ Please teach your child to love Geography and History. Learn about our planet. Learn about other cultures. ~ Don't forget to have fun too! Learn magic tricks - a real confidence getter when you learn how to amaze your friends! The Usborne Book of Magic Tricks is perfect for the 10 year old. ~ Let's teach our children to set goals and outline steps as to how to achieve their goals. You get the idea ~ once you achieve a goal immediately start on another goal. You will be very happily supprised with the results. If you dream, you can achieve. Who has a goal that they would like to share? ~ I have had so many parents tell me that their child is too old for these books. No way - have your 12 year old check out our Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Dictonary of Math or learn Spanish, French, German or Italian with our Foreign Language and Reference Books. ~ Middle grade students need to read between 35 and 45 books per year just to keep up with learning the vocabulary they will need to become literate adults. Turn off the tv and read. Set aside time each day for your child to read on her own. This is a particularly important thing to do during summer vacations when children have more time and need to keep their reading skills up to speed. ~ Subscribe to magazines that interest your child. Top Of Page ~ ~ ~ EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOP ARTICLES ~ ~ ~ Why Babies Need Books They coo, they cuddle... but can they really enjoy books? By Kate Jack The answer is a resounding "yes!" As Gopnik, Meltzoff, and Kuhl, authors of The Scientist in the Crib note, "Babies know important things about language literally from the time they are born, and they learn a great deal about language before they ever say a word." Numerous studies confirm that reading to infants not only boosts speech and language development, but overall intelligence as well. When you read to your baby, you set the stage for a lifetime of literacy. Taking those important first steps towards raising a reader doesn't have to be a challenge. Below are some answers to commonly asked questions to help you on your way. How do babies use books? Babies love to observe. Every time you read to your baby, you reinforce basic reading concepts, such as turning pages and following text from left to right. As you read a book together, point to the pictures, name them, and talk about them. As your infant grows, he will imitate you by turning pages or pointing to objects. Babies also like to be held and spoken to. And books provide the perfect opportunity for them to learn about speech patterns and how to make sounds. When you read to your child, think of it as a conversation. Make the experience fun and interactive -- describe the colors you see, ask questions, convey emotions. Consider that each book is a new world for you to explore. How can I be sure that my baby enjoys reading? Books provide vital one-on-one time for you and your infant. Through the sound of your voice and the warmth of your body, your baby will come to think of reading as a pleasurable activity. Even as your child becomes more active and begins to venture off your lap, she will still appreciate the routine of snuggling together to read. She will probably want to read the same story over and over, and it's best not to dissuade her. Remember that the familiarity of a favorite bedtime story can provide comfort and security, and the repetition -- while sometimes boring for you! -- helps your baby to build her vocabulary and comprehension. What kind of book is best for infants? Newborns see things best from about a foot away -- or the distance from your face to your baby's while you're holding him. So it's best to select books with high-contrast images. Black-and-white illustrations and patterns (stripes, polka dots, checkers) provide plenty of entertainment for infants of this age. To stimulate older babies, look for books that require some manual dexterity. Lift-the-flap books, touch-and-feel books, and chunky board books sized for little hands are both fun and challenging. Books that offer a variety of textures introduce your baby to the difference between fuzzy and hard, smooth and rough. Most babies do not have the attention span required for lengthy picture books, so stick to simple text and rhymes accompanied by vivid pictures. Also, sturdy construction is important -- you want books that will last! Remember that while babies aren't born book lovers, they are born learners. And the more you read to them, the more they learn. They learn to love the feel of the pages in their hands (or their mouth), the sound of your voice, the beauty of the illustrations the joy of a good book. Thank you Kate Jack for this wonderful article. Top Of Page ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Children's Learning Styles Spatial Visual Learner Kinetic Learner Language-Oriented Learner Logical Learner Understanding my son's learning style has helped me understand him better and assisted me in reinforcing skills he needs to succeed in school. June Griswold, a classroom teacher for 16 years, shared her research into the ways children learn with me. She believes that identifying learning styles and adapting lessons can motivate students and eliminate unfair labeling -- learning differences do not necessarily translate into learning disabilities. June recommends two books as references -- "Awakening Your Child's Natural Genius" and "In Their Own Way", both by Thomas Armstrong. She groups learning styles into four, major categories -- spatial visual, kinetic or movement, language-oriented, and logical/analytical. Children can use a mixture of learning styles or be dominant in one. A child with diverse learning styles is usually a more flexible learner. See if you can recognize your own child's style(s) from the following descriptions. Then adapt summer forays into learning, accommodating individual style. Share helpful information with your child's teacher when school starts. Remember all children work well with hands-on activities and manipulative. SPATIAL VISUAL LEARNER -- Needs and likes to visualize things; learns through images; enjoys art and drawing; reads maps, charts and diagrams well; fascinated with machines and inventions; plays with legos; likes mazes and puzzles. Often accused of being a daydreamer in class. MOTIVATING TIPS -- Use board games and memory devices to create visual patterns. In reading suggest visual clues. Offer picture books of all types; when reading chapter books together, encourage visualization of story and scenes at intervals. Promote writing via colored pens, computer or drawing. KINETIC LEARNER -- Processes knowledge through physical sensations; highly active, not able to sit still long; communicates with body language and gestures. Shows you rather than tells you; needs to touch and feel world; good at mimicking others; likes scary amusement rides; naturally athletic and enjoys sports. Often labeled with attention deficient disorder. MOTIVATING TIPS -- Physical action is the key ingredient to stimulating this student. While reading, let child chew gum, walk around, rock or ride stationary bicycle. Use numerous hands-on activities and experiments, art projects, nature walks or acting out stories. LANGUAGE-ORIENTED LEARNER -- Thinks in words, verbalizes concepts; spins tales and jokes; spells words accurately and easily. Can be a good reader or prefer the spoken word more; has excellent memory for names, dates and trivia; likes word games; enjoys using tape recorders and often musically talented. MOTIVATING TIPS -- Encourage creation of own word problems. Have child dictate a story to you and watch while you write it or type it out on a word processor -- then child can share it with you. Read aloud together and tape session for later playback. Consider purchasing some book/tape selections. LOGICAL LEARNER -- Thinks conceptually, likes to explore patterns and relationships; enjoys puzzles and seeing how things work; constantly questions and wonders; capable of highly abstract forms of logical thinking at early age; computes math problems quickly in head; enjoys strategy games, computers and experiments with purpose; creates own designs to build with blocks/legos. MOTIVATING TIPS -- Do science experiments together and have child record results; use computer learning games and word puzzles. Offer context clues as a reading aid. Introduce non-fiction and rhyming books. When reading fiction, discuss relation of story to real-life situations and people. Pam Wynne Fellers is a local free-lance writer and mother. This information originally ran in the Parent to Parent column she writes for The Coloradoan, a daily Fort Collins, CO newspaper. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ I have to thank Lissa for teaching me all I know to be able to develop and maintain this website. Please take some time to visit her site that is developed by a very smart young lady and is kid friendly. Click here you will love her kid friendly site!!!! Top Of Page © Copyright 2003-2008. All rights reserved. The owner of PlanetSL3.com is an Independent Educational Consultant for Usborne Books at Home. The words "Usborne" and "Usborne Books at Home" are the trademarks of Usborne Publishing Ltd. Usborne Publishing Ltd. has no connection with these pages and does not sponsor or support their content. We will never sell or give away your personal information ~ we respect your privacy.