Debi Taylor-Hough

Bright-Kids
________________________________

Vol. 5, No. 34 - August 25th, 2008
http://hometown.aol.com/brightkidsrus
mailto: debi@simplemom.com
Copyright 2008 Deborah Taylor-Hough
ISSN: 1536-0466 All Rights Reserved
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IN THIS ISSUE:
-- "Dear Readers":
-- Quote-able
-- Types and Purposes of Reading
-- Teach Your Children about Nature Through Nature Books
-- Reader Tips
-- Assorted Information (resources, archives, etc.)
________________________________

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

New "Millionaire Calculator" Teaches Children the Power of
Compound Interest

Baby boomers are retiring broke in record numbers because
they failed to start saving early enough.

Parents can help their children avoid this grim future by
getting them in the habit of saving while they are young.

The new Millionaire Calculator by KidsWealth reveals how
easy it is for your child to retire a millionaire if you start a
monthly savings plan right now.

"My 2 year-old will retire a millionaire if we save just $97
a month until he is 20!" --Chris Loch in Provo, UT

http://tinyurl.com/5nsvb8

________________________________

Dear Readers,

Lots of readers' tips this week! Thanks so much, everyone,
for all your great ideas and participation in this newsletter.

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
________________________________

QUOTABLE

"Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves, and
it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining
things to them."

--Antoine de Saint-Exupery

________________________________

TYPES AND PURPOSES OF READING
Copyright Catherine Levison
Used with permission. All rights reserved.
http://charlottemasoneducation.com

There are basically two types of reading: There's reading for
enjoyment and there's reading for knowledge. And on a very
happy day, the two collide.

You can't expect to find little Eddie in the living room reading
a physics book all on his own because he likes it. Well, if you
do, then congratulations, that's a very good problem to have.

And don't rely on electro-shock therapy to create a love for
reading. Can you picture that? "Hold still Timmy. Quit wiggling,
Mommy just has to get these attached to your head. Okay, this
will only hurt for a second."

No, that isn't the answer, either.

The way to create the love of reading is to have the most interesting
books ever written, and if at first you don't succeed, keep trying.
Get away from the easy readers as soon as possible and put one
book after another in front of your child. Either they'll be readers and
like it with very little effort, or they will be the "other kind" and they
need more time. If they think they hate to read and you allow that
idea to cement, you'll regret it later.

Instead, go ahead, wear yourself out going back and forth to the library
because someday the clouds will part, a beam of light will appear and
yes, Johnny will say the words you've been longing to hear, "Mommy,
I like this book!"

Quickly ascertain what it is about this book he likes. The content?
The writing style? The colors? Whatever it is go and get more just
like that one. We want to develop the habit of reading as well as the
enjoyment of reading. We want the child to find out that he won't die
from it. No, it's fun. But he has to come to that conclusion on his
own.

Another thing that will help greatly is reading aloud to any and every
child you have. Forget their ages and disregard who likes to read and
who doesn't. Read a lot and from vastly different kinds of books. Read
like your life depends on it. I promise it will come back to you. You
will thank yourself later.

The more any child learns to enjoy reading, the better. One of many
reasons is someday, somewhere they're going to have to read
something they don't want to read. It will be boring, it will be tedious.
However, they will learn to tolerate those moments and view them
as temporary. The child who decides they don't like to read anything
at all, thinks that way all the time. They're always tolerating. If any
person -- young or old -- likes to read, they know that just as soon
as they finish this poorly written boring book, they can get back to
reading something great.

The Purposes of Reading

This topic is similar to types of reading but differs in a few ways.
One purpose is reading prepares people for writing. The more reading
you do the more likely you are to excel at copying what you have
seen, written in the style you have read. For example, let's say you
asked me to write a novel and make it as close to a Jane Austen
novel as possible. That would be difficult enough but it would be nearly
impossible if I had never read a Jane Austen book. But if I had just
read every book she wrote three times in a row I would be better
prepared to copy her writing style.

If your child has read many essays written by brilliant people and
has come to understand the lay out, the style, the approach, well
then, you can expect a better result when he tries to write his own
essay.

Another purpose for reading is reading for sheer knowledge. Charlotte
Mason, a British educator from the last century, called this "Read to
Know." It is a skill that comes with practice. It is a matter of buckling
down and paying attention. It is training your mind to catch the
meaning of a page the very first time you read it. Imagine a textbook
and you have an exam early in the morning. You are going to pay
attention eventually to the data before you. Either read it over and
over again while continually finding yourself not really reading or
make it happen the first time. This skill is developed in the Charlotte
Mason method through the constant use of narration -- but that's
another article.

And that brings us to our last purpose for reading that we will be
covering here. College. The majority of my children are at college
age right now and I am happy that I came across something Dr.
Ruth Beechick wrote a long time ago. To paraphrase her words
she said that the better reader a person was, the better chances
they had to be a good student.

In my own words, college reading level and the massive quantities
assigned in most classes is no laughing matter. Not only are the
professors not shy about doling out huge reading assignments they
expect you to know what you read. They will find out whether you
do or you do not. Yes, the fill in the bubble multiple choice test is
frequently used but so is the essay style of examination. Not having
developed the habit of reading will cause sloppy study habits such
as misreading and missing the point of the reading and simply not
being able to keep up the quantity of reading. People such as this
may think they have caught the meaning of the passage in its
context but the examination is designed to assure that they have.
Then the sad fact that they misunderstood or did not retain the
information becomes known.

I asked one of my college age children exactly how many hours a
day she spends reading for school and she found it to be a difficult
question. She told me it could be all day, meaning if she had the
time she could spend every waking hour that she was not in classes
reading -- it could never be too much. I asked her to estimate how
much time she actually spent to which she said, "All it is, all of the
work, it's all reading."

Perhaps this is due to the types of classes she attends but I mentally
reviewed what I had observed in my older children who went before
her and I came up with the same thing.

The point? Your children when or if they go to college will be reading
a lot. Perhaps if you prepare them now it will help them later.

I will end with this encouragement. While asking this particular child
about her reading habits she told me this. "Mom, if you want to know
what I remember about home schooling the most and what I think
helped me to do my best in college, I'll tell you. It's easy. It was the
reading out loud that you did.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
--Catherine Levison is a well-respected workshop presenter
to parenting and educational audiences throughout the USA
and Canada. She's also the author of two popular books and
is regularly featured in this email newsletter. Visit Catherine
online at: http://charlottemasoneducation.com

ATTENTION! Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia
parents, educators, and home schoolers!

Catherine Levison will be conducting one of her popular All Day
How-to Workshops in Auburn, Washington (located halfway
between Seattle and Tacoma) on Saturday, September 20th.

For complete information, go to:
http://charlottemasoneducation.com/speaking.html

You can purchase Catherine Levison's books at the Seattle
area workshop -- and even have them autographed! -- or you
can buy her books online at:

A Charlotte Mason Education
http://amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1891400169/simplepleasuresp/

More Charlotte Mason Education
http://amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1891400177/simplepleasuresp/

________________________________

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

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and beyond school.

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life to enjoy for many years. You'll not only have 100's
of great Game Ideas. You'll be able to make Board Games,
Card Games, and Game Sheets straight from your computer.
Make as many copies as you want, whenever you want.

http://bkids.seaeagle.hop.clickbank.net

________________________________

TEACH YOUR CHILDREN ABOUT NATURE THROUGH NATURE BOOKS
Copyright
Used with permission from EzineArticles.com.
All rights reserved.

Books have a world of their own, where they are able to
envelope the thoughts of a child, within the pages of color
and beauty. They are the simplest tools one can use to
make a point to a child. They are easy to understand and
are printed according to the ages of children and their
development stage. They make great gifts, and are invaluable
and carry no expiry date. They remain in families for generations
to come, and appreciate in monetary terms, with the passing
of time. Through these devices of knowledge, nature can be
explained in all its essence and beauty.

Nature is something that cannot be defined, but only seen. It
is that ultimate creation of God; one whole piece of landscape.
Children first learn about nature from their very own garden or
backyard. They see, they observe, and ask a lot of questions.
It is not very easy to quell a child's interest and satisfy his or
her hunger for information. Like, why is the sky blue? How does
rain form? What is a cocoon? Why are the leaves mostly green?
Why does the weather keep changing? What is thunder?

As they keep growing older, their need for information grows,
and this is where books come in handy -- not only as tools of
information, but as guides for children to develop a love for
nature.

Books on nature were published to give accurate information, in
the most colorful and innovative way possible. There are hardcover
or paperbacks or in today's world -- e-books available online. The
older the child, the more he wants to know, so all these sources
are available today, to quench his thirst for knowledge. Some
children are so influenced and satisfied with books on nature,
that this inspires them to become environmentalists, once they
grow up. The foundation is laid by the nature of presentation
within the books.

I personally, love going through books written on nature. They
contain such a wide palette of color, and the information is put
across in a very systematic and simple language, which is not
only easy to understand but makes one's imagination run wild.
They can actually create a mental picture of certain occurrences
in nature. It makes it a very realistic picture for the reader.

Finally, I must say that books that tell of the wonders of nature
should be encouraged. Books form a very crucial part of the
child's relationship and understanding of nature. They are the
windows by which the child is able to see the earth and all it
entails, in a beautiful way. Children need to develop a love for
nature books from a young age, and this responsibility lies
entirely with the parents and elders.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
--Victor Epand is an expert consultant about books. When
shopping for books, we recommend you shop only at the best
bookstores for used books, autographed books.
http://www.usedbooksell.com
http://www.sellautographedbooks.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Victor_Epand
________________________________

Visit our new Nature Study Bookstore online!
http://astore.amazon.com/naturestudy-20/
________________________________

READER TIPS
Submitted by Bright-Kids' readers.

== Sock Tip ==

My tip involves socks. We have 7 kids, and it never fails that
when we are trying to get out the door, one or two or more kids
won't have their socks. Instead of having to go back upstairs to
get socks, I now have a dresser in the mudroom with a drawer
for everyone's socks. I use the other drawers to hold mitts, hats,
gloves, small shoes, balls, etc... It also makes it much easier
when I do laundry as all the socks go in one place.

--Anne M. in Hillsborough, New Brunswick, Canada

---

== Thank you ==

I just wanted to write and thank you for sending out your back to
school letter. Though many of the tips you gave were things I was
already doing or have done, it was a wonderful reminder and refreshed
my mind to get me ready for back to school mentality. I have a tight
budget and I really appreciate your quick money saving suggestions.
Sometimes just wrapping my head around it all seems daunting with
all of my other commitments. Thanks again for the help.

--Denise M.

---

== Educational Caterpillars ==

Instead of letting our garden caterpillars eat our tomatoes
and carrot tops for free, we collect a few of them and keep
them in a large jar with a bit of the plant they came from.
There, we can watch them grow from tiny larvae, to big
caterpillars, to pupae in a chrysalis, to adult moth or butterfly.

Simply cut a few of your plant's leafy stems that contain a
couple of hearty-looking caterpillars. Place them in a large
wide-mouth jar with a tall stick that they can use to hang the
chrysalis from. You need a jar wide enough to provide ample
room for the moth/butterfly to flap its wings after it emerges
from the chrysalis.

Poke several small holes in the jar lid, or cover with screen
and a tight-fitting rubber band. (This also a great way to reuse
those expensive butterfly habitats sold in toy stores). Add a
few leaves or small stems as needed.

Once the butterfly emerges, give it plenty of time to dry its
wings (a day) and then release it outside.

The great thing about this project is that if the litter buggers
don't make it (many don't), nobody is too upset because they
were garden pests that were going to be pulled off the plants
and thrown to the birds, anyway.

--Kimm H. in Alpharetta GA

---

== Inexpensive Sources for School Supplies ==

I found several bargain school/office items, such as notebook
binders (some with clean notebook paper still in them), spiral
notebooks and plastic bags filled with new unsharpened pencils,
at my local thrift stores! (Goodwill, Salvation Army, Caritas, etc.)

Apparently when kids brought their "stuff" home when school
was out, their families donated these items to the charities.
Some of the binders were large and may have been donated by
businesses. They were gently used but still in good shape -- and
very, very inexpensive. Not only could they be used for class, but
also in your home office.

I've also found these stores sell those tubular plastic coat hangers
at far lower prices than you can get them at the big box discount
stores. I've bought them for 88 cents per dozen at one thrift store
and 10 for 50 cents at another.

So it pays to get really well acquainted with all the thrift and
secondhand stores in your area -- they sometimes sell some
surprising things!

--Lynn

---

==Back-to-School Tips for Special Needs Kids==

As a mom and a teacher, here are some special back-to-
school tips for parents of students with special education
needs:

1) Make sure that you have a copy of your child's Individualized
Education Plan (IEP) or 504 plan. If your child is changing schools
(especially districts), this is critical.

2) Contact the school before the school year starts. Many teachers,
counselors and administrators are in and out during the summer.
Find out who your child's classroom teacher or teachers will be, as
well as which special education teacher will be responsible for your
child's services and accommodations. Drop off a note or e-mail just
to say hi and give your contact information.

3) If your child has critical medical needs (inhalers, epi-pens, blood
glucose monitors, insulin, or severe food allergies) make sure the
school is aware of this. Your district may have special forms to fill
out to keep medication or equipment at school, and these will need
to be renewed each year. All medications and equipment will need
to be labeled with the student's name. Unfortunately most schools
don't have full-time school nurses.

4) If your child is in middle or high school, classes and teachers
change each quarter. A quick e-mail to give teachers a heads up
to touch base with the counselor or special education teacher
regarding the IEP, and your current contact information is always
welcome.

5) If your child has an unusual medical condition, a fact sheet with
basic information will be welcomed by teachers. Often the special
education teacher, counselor, or nurse can distribute this to the
teachers.

6) Keep a binder or folder of past IEPs or 504 plans, standardized
tests, special medical information, and any other items that seem
relevant. Only you have the full history of your child, especially if
your child receives services outside of school.

We all want the same thing: a positive learning experience for your
child. As a parent, your level of organization and communication
can make a huge difference in easing back into the school routine.

--Jennifer Burns
Special Education teacher and parent of special needs child
Kenosha WI

* * Your Tips? * *
Do you have some great family fun, educational, or parenting
tips/ideas you'd love to share with other parents and caregivers?
Just send your tips and ideas to Debi at Bright-Kids:
DSimple@aol.com
______________________________

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/
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Bright-Kids - 08/25/08 - Purposes of reading; nature books