Debi Taylor-Hough

Bright-Kids
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Vol. 5, No. 19 - May 12th, 2008
http://brightkids.wordpress.com
mailto: debi@simplemom.com
Copyright 2008 Deborah Taylor-Hough
ISSN: 1536-0466 All Rights Reserved
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Subscribe: join-bright-kids@hub.thedollarstretcher.com
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IN THIS ISSUE:
-- "Dear Readers"
-- Quote-able
-- Nature Watching
-- Reading to Your Children: Part One
-- Reader Tips
-- Assorted Information (resources, archives, etc.)
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< < O U R . S P O N S O R > >

PIANO IS EASY FOR KIDS

Start piano at home with your child
Book and numbered stickers. Free DVD.
Come see all the fun songs you can play.
Download and print any book $9.95

http://www.pianoiseasy2.com

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Dear Readers ...

Hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day over the weekend!

Simply Yours,

--Debi
(Deborah Taylor-Hough)
Editor, Bright-Kids Email Newsletter
--Author of the popular 'Frozen Assets' cookbook series, 'A Simple
Choice,' and 'Frugal Living For Dummies(r)'
--Editor, Simple Times and Bright-Kids email newsletters

http://brightkids.wordpress.com
http://thesimplemom.wordpress.com
http://snurl.com/DebiTupperware
http://dsimple.wordpress.com
http://whiteriverpres.org

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QUOTABLE

"The objective of education is to prepare the young to
educate themselves throughout their lives."

--Robert Maynard Hutchins

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NATURE WATCHING
Copyright Robert Krampf
Used with permission. All rights reserved.
http://krampf.com
FPLshows@aol.com

I've been an avid bird watcher for many years. When I first got started,
I spent most of my time bird spotting, trying to add more and more
species to my life list. While it's fun to add a new species, there's
much more to bird watching than just spotting them.

To see what the bird spotters are missing, you will need:

-- birdseed

Okay, so you need to find a place to watch birds. Luckily that's
pretty easy, because you can find birds just about everywhere.
They live in cities, forests and deserts. You can find them in the
arctic and in the middle of the ocean. You can even find them in
your backyard.

Now you could easily go out in the yard and sit there waiting for
a bird to fly by, but we want the birds to stay for a while. If you
have lots of plants, they will probably do just that, but you can
encourage them by putting out some food. Don’t put out bread
crumbs or crackers. They are not good for birds. Instead, put
out some sunflower seeds, millet, or unsalted peanuts. Place
the food where you will be able to see it from your window, and
where the birds will be safe from neighborhood cats and other
predators.

Then wait and watch. Depending on the area, it may take a few
minutes or a few hours for birds to find the food, and feel comfort-
able enough to stop for a snack. If you continue putting out food,
within a few days you should have some regular visitors.

Once the birds are feeding, watch them. You will find that some
species tend to be very aggressive, trying to chase other birds
away from the food. Other species tend to ignore the other birds,
gladly sharing the feast. Notice that different birds prefer different
kinds of food. Watch the way different birds eat. Some will grab
seeds and fly away to eat or hide them, while others will sit and
nibble until they are full. Some will be very flighty, zipping away
at any movement, while others will tend to ignore you as long as
you don’t get too close. Notice how their behavior and sounds
change if a cat comes into the yard.

The more you watch them, the more you will learn about how they
behave. You can practice your skill at observation by watching
other animals too. If you have a flower garden, watch to see if
different types of bees and butterflies like different colors and
types of flowers. Watch ants as they search for food. Is there
a pattern to the way that they search? If they find food, do they
follow the same path back to their home?

Observation is an important skill in science, and the better you
are at noticing details, the more you will learn about science and
the world around you. For example, earlier today I observed that
there was still some ice cream left in the freezer. As a good
scientist, I really should check on it again, to be sure that it is
still there.

Have a wonder-filled week.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
--Robert Krampf travels the world providing fun science-related
programs to schools, home school groups, and other venues.
You can learn more about him at: http://krampf.com/bio.html

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< < O U R . S P O N S O R > >

--"I Never Should Have Tolerated It!"--

Mary was angry. She was losing her husband to divorce.
Why? Lack of money -- the debt was out of control. Hurtful
things were said. Her relationship with her husband declined
and never recovered. It's sad, really. But not uncommon. Not
at all. Did you know over 70% of marriages that end in divorce
are due to financial difficulties. If your marriage is suffering
because of a high debt load, you need to do something about
it NOW. Not tomorrow. Not next week. If you wait any longer,
you may be bankrupt, divorced or both. My name is Clint
Holland. I've developed a system that anyone can use to pay
off all their debt, including the mortgage, in just 3-5 years --
without bankruptcy, debt consolidation, or any unethical
tactics. Will you let me help you? Member BBB.

http://www.debt-free-in-three.com/BrightKids.asp

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READING TO YOUR CHILDREN -- PART ONE
by Shari Steelsmith
Copyright Parenting Press
Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
http://www.ParentingPress.com

Tip: Consider a deliberate approach to raising children to be
readers.

Educators and psychologists have been telling us for years
that children who are read to consistently have great advantages
in life. They:

-- Become good readers themselves
-- Develop the ability to concentrate at length
-- Learn to solve problems logically
-- Develop better vocabularies
-- Express themselves more easily and clearly

That is by no means the end of the list of benefits -- but it's
probably enough to convince most of us that it's a good idea.

Tools:

Parent educator Jan Faull, author of 'Unplugging Power Struggles:
Resolving Emotional Battles with Your Kids', talks about imparting
the value of reading to your child. To families who read, she points
out, it's more than just a leisure activity; it lays the foundation for
intellectual pursuits, it teaches about history and current events,
and helps create interesting, knowledgeable individuals. These are
all long-term benefits of reading.

Faull cautions against simply forcing children to share the same
values you hold -- down that path, she writes, you'll encounter a
power struggle. Instead, she advocates a subtle, low-key, yet very
deliberate approach to imparting your value on reading.

Model reading. Obviously, you need to set an example by reading
regularly yourself. If you want your children to pursue a goal, it's
crucial to model that behavior yourself. If reading is a priority in
your home, you'll naturally spend your time focused on it. How
you use your time clearly communicates your values to your
children.

Read to your children regularly. Set aside a consistent time each
day for this. Just before bedtime is a very common read-aloud time
for many families. Faull recommends "surrounding your children
with love as you read to them." This won’t be hard at all -- reading
together is an incredibly nurturing and bonding time for parent and
child. This creates a very positive association with the reading
process.

Encourage and celebrate a new reader. As your children learn
to read and stumble across words, be patient and supportive;
don’t pressure them for a perfect performance or a high-achieving
assessment score at school. You want their experience with
reading to be positive. When a child does finally begin to read
with beginning competency -- it typically happens between
kindergarten and 2nd grade -- celebrate the milestone. In my
family, we make a special cake for a new reader and give him
or her a new book.

Set rules or limits to protect reading time. You might impose
a rule that a particular hour during the day is set aside for home-
work or quiet reading. All family members swear off electronics
(TV, phone, computer, etc.) during this time.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
--You'll find more practical tips you can use right now in 'Unplugging
Power Struggles: Resolving Emotional Battles with Your Kids' by
Jan Faull, M.Ed. You can order the book online by going to:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1884734421/simplepleasuresp/

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READERS WRITE / READERS' TIPS
Submitted by Bright-Kids' readers.
Send your tips to Debi: dsimple@aol.com

Tips? Ideas? Anyone?

We'd love to hear YOUR fun ideas to encourage kids to learn
something new or try something different! Or even just have
some good old-fashioned family fun. :-)
______________________________

READ-ALOUD BOOKS FOR FAMILIES:

http://snurl.com/reading4kids

Recommended books for children and families
(This is a great list to print out and hand to your kids'
grandparents for suggestions at gift-giving times!) :-)
_______________________________

A special thanks to Gary Foreman and the friendly folks at
The Dollar Stretcher for making this mailing list possible! :-)
http://www.stretcher.com/
_______________________________

< < B E . O U R . S P O N S O R > >

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DEBI'S RESOURCES:

Personal Blog: http://dsimple.wordpress.com
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Cooking Ahead: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/frozen-assets
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My Church: http://whiteriverpres.org
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Bright-Kids - 5/12/08 - Nature watching; reading to your kids