Category: kids books

Fun St. Patrick’s Day Crafts and Activities

Posted on | by KD Novelties

St. Patrick’s Day is the first holiday of the spring season, even if it just falls short of the spring equinox on March 20th. Whether you happen to be Irish or not, St. Patrick’s Day is all about what’s good and green, and there are plenty of spring-inspired activities to entertain children this time of year.

Arts and Crafts

There are two things that people associate with St. Patrick’s Day: the color green and shamrocks. Incorporating these features into any art activity can be easy, but to make things a little more fun, you can get creative and make DIY decorations, create your own games or even your own St. Patrick’s Day outfits and props.

Here are some cute crafts you can make easily with items from home:

Coffee Filter Shamrock Materials:

● Coffee filter

● 2 baby food jars

● Water

● Scissors

● Blue and yellow food coloring

● Q-tips

Instructions: Cut the coffee filter out into the shape of a shamrock. Put water in two baby food jars or similar containers. Add yellow food coloring to one jar and blue to the other. Give kids Q-tips or small cotton swabs and let them mix the colors on the coffee filter. You end up with a a cool tye-dyed green shamrock!

Shamrock Wands Materials:

● Green construction paper

● Scissors

● Glue

● Stapler

● Gold glitter

● Green straw

● Ribbon, Green and Gold

Instructions: Cut three heart shapes using the green paper. Then, glue the tips of the three hearts together to form a shamrock when combined. Staple the shamrock in the center to the end of the straw which will form your handle. Decorate the shamrock with gold glitter and other materials as desired. Cut ribbons into 3 foot strands. Gather ribbons together at one end, and staple them to the back of the shamrock at the center so that the ends hang down from the shamrock wand. If desired, cut several tiny shamrocks from the remainder of the paper and staple them along the ribbons as well.

Reading and Research

The word ‘research’ may not always inspire excitement, but learning more about the St. Patrick’s Day holiday and the Irish culture can be interesting, and fun too. There are plenty of traditional songs, poems, and dances that you can discover and try along with your kids. Put on a play or a performance including some of the stuff you and your children have learned!

Reading can also be exciting, too. There are fantastical tales of leprechauns and the luck of the Irish, but there are also plenty of children’s books and reference materials that can teach you and your kids more about the holiday, St. Patrick, and other Irish traditions.

Whip Up Some Treats

Around the end of March, corned beef and cabbage suddenly become very in-demand. Cooking with kids is a great way to introduce them to new foods, but it can also provide you with some memory-making bonding time, too. Whether you decide to make a traditional Irish dinner or simply want to indulge in some Irish Soda Bread, enlist your kids to help you gather ingredients, prepare the meal, and eat it as well!

There is always room for St. Patrick’s Day themed cakes and cookies, as well. Play around with the color green, mint or pistachio flavored treats, and go to town! Cut cookies out into shamrock shapes, add fun St. Patrick’s themed straws, sprinkles, and more. If you want to try and be a bit healthier, you can also try to create a dish like a healthy shake or smoothie using hearty, healthy greens like kale, spinach, and other fruits and veggies to keep with the spirit of the holiday.

Share the Love of Reading

Posted on | by KD Novelties

 

Valentine’s Day is often associated with significant others and intimate date nights, but Valentine’s Day can be a day for celebrating all kinds of love. Show your children how much you love them by sharing the gift of reading with them, especially when a love of reading can lead to a lifelong love of learning.

One of the best ways to get kids to read is by example. Whatever you do, your kids will want to try, too, therefore as a parent you can set an example in many ways. Let them see you read, whether it be a book or the newspaper. You can also keep books around the house as well. Even materials like magazines, reference books, and even coffee table tomes can help set a precedent – it shows kids that reading is a part of life and it has a place in the home. But another great way to encourage kids to read is to give them some books of their own.

This Valentine’s Day, spread the love with titles that explore what it’s like to care for one another. There are plenty of classic stories about love, friendship and family. We have some titles that are perfect for this time such as “God’s Special Gifts to Me” and “God Loves Me” that can help kids feel accepted, reminding them that they have a place and purpose in the world. These personalized books make the sentiment all the more personal, and that special feeling can last a lifetime. “God’s Special Gifts to Me” can help remind kids that we are all God’s children and that He made us and loves us. This personalized story book can act as a reminder of the many blessings we experience every day and that there is always plenty to be thankful for. “God Loves Me” reminds kids that whether they feel frightened or sad, thankful or glad, that they can talk to God about it through prayer so they never feel alone and are loved.

 

We also have other titles that appeal to many interests (such as your classic couple love stories) such as the Disney Princesses books, Aladdin, Pocahontas so there is sure to be a perfect book out there for your little one. In celebration of Valentine’s Day, we are offering a 15% off discount to help you give the gift of love and reading. Use coupon code LOVE17-OFF expiring February 28, 2017.

How To Get Your Kids to Really Love Reading

Posted on | by KD Novelties

The best way to forge a positive relationship with reading for your child is to help encourage a love for reading. A love of reading is a love of learning, and it is not only linked to better academic success and performance, but it can also lead to a more fulfilling life, overall.

Make reading a part of your lives. Making something a habit is one thing, and it can certainly help. If you schedule in some nightly story time every day, you can certainly make reading a part of your child’s life. It can help reading feel like a normal part of the day instead of an extraneous activity that they may or may not feel like doing. Setting aside time to read can differ from family to family depending on their schedule and their preferences, so find a time that works for you and make it stick!

Let them see you read, too. Reading with your child is one thing, but it helps if they see you read on your own, too. Children learn a lot by seeing, therefore, you’ll notice that they will take after you by repeating certain mannerisms, using certain words, and wanting to do all of the things that you do. Making reading a part of your life can help you build your own positive habits but it can help send a positive message to your kids, as well.

Books, books, books! Populating your home with books and other sorts of reading material is also a good way to encourage reading. Having a variety of books, magazines, coffee table books, comics, etc. can help further drive the notion that reading is a part of life and it is more likely to become a part of your child’s life, too. Even if they simply peruse catalogs or look through classics, having books around can work wonders. In addition to books around the house, also try to give your child a little library of their own.

Personalize their books. Make them the star. When populating your child’s own personal library, consider getting personalized books as well. Personalized books include your child’s name, and sometimes other attributes, in order to create a unique story where they are at the center of all the action. Personalized books, like those we publish, can help make your child’s library feel more like their own, and  they can help make books and reading more of a personal experience, too. Personalized books are great for kids who may be reluctant readers, but once they hear that they are the hero, they will be much more inclined to want to find out more!

Personalized Books

Get graphic. Graphic novels and comics have come a long way, and nowadays there are plenty of critically acclaimed works that adults are scrambling to get their hands on. Comics and graphic novels can be a great gateway to reading for kids who may be reluctant to read, kids who may have issues with reading because of a reading disability like dyslexia, or even children who have difficulties imagining abstract concepts because of another learning disability. Images and dynamic scenes play out across the pages and can help instill interest in kids of all kinds.

Let them get the pick of the week. Kids may not always like what they’re reading in school, especially if it is for a project or an assignment. There may be a number of different reasons as to why this is, but many children might feel turned off because of the link to school and homework specifically. Remember to let your kids pick out what they want to read every once in awhile.  Give them some space and freedom to broaden their horizons and pique their own sense of curiosity whether they are looking for a book to read for fun or a book to share with you at story time.

Consider tablets and other formats. With apps and games becoming increasingly popular, as well as general mobile-device usage, kids may also have fun playing around with ebooks. Ebooks can sometimes be interactive as well, including game-like aspects and illustrations that can further help interest them in the story they’re reading.

Give them incentives. You might feel like bribing them, but after a while kids may begin to continue reading on their own without any idea of a reward. Let them stay up later to read, offer to buy them books or take them to parks and other places that are near the library, etc. You can try rewarding them for reading books, however, making it seem like more of an accomplishment when they do can help to instill a feeling of satisfaction on their own that can drive their interest and keep it going the more they read.

Make reading a special treat, too. Making reading an everyday thing is important, but it can be special, too. Try making a dedicated reading nook in your home or in your child’s room to help encourage them to use the space. You can also make family outings of going to the bookstore or to the library to get new books a special gift.

Let them work at their own pace. Whether your child wants to eat up books or take them in slowly, make sure that you still respect their wishes. Instilling an interest in books and encouraging them to do so is important, and it can work – as long as you don’t push them too hard and allow them to soak stories in at their own pace.