Review/Giveaway: Show Me How!

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I know I just mentioned in a preschool post last week that there is no one *perfect* preschool curriculum that fits all families and kids.  But there are some awesome resources available to parents, and I’d like to share one of these with you today.  It helps answer the “what to read?” and “what experiences to share?” questions we first-time mammas have in a most creative, positive way!

In her book, Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking, Vivian Kirkfield has put together 100 perfect combinations:  a classic picture-book synopsis, a quick and easy craft, and a child-friendly healthful recipe.  The books are chosen to address the following areas:

• I Can Do It Myself!  How to help your children master tasks and skills.
• I’m Special!  How to help your children value their own strengths and qualities.
• I Love You and You Love Me!  How to help your children feel appreciated, loved and accepted.
• I Am Really Mad Right Now!  How to help your children express their feelings.
• I’m Afraid!  How to help your children acknowledge and cope with their fears.
• I Like Myself!  How to help your children feel good about their bodies and themselves.

At the end of the book, the author includes a suggested daily schedule and some non-edible recipes for basic crafting and fun – exactly the type of tips a new preschooler parent is likely looking for.

Armed with this book, a library card, and a few additions to your grocery list, you are all prepped for a low-stress way to positively interact with your preschooler and build life skills!

Here at our house, Show Me How! was used for a fun break from our regular routine; it was an opportunity to kick back, relax, and just have fun together. 

One of the books we read was The Story of Ferdinand.   Set in Spain, it is about a young bull who loved to sit and smell flowers.  He was chosen to fight in Madrid’s famous bullring, but once there, he just sat down in the middle of the ring to enjoy the flowers in the audience.  It’s a story about recognizing and accepting individuality.

We followed up the story with a daisy chain necklace craft…

…which Esmé proudly modeled as a crown.         

Then Esmé helped me fry up some ingredients for Spanish rice.

Synopsis:

Young children love to listen to picture book stories. Add a quick and easy craft project and a simple healthful cooking activity and you get happy kids who are building self-esteem, developing stronger literacy skills and creating a life-long bond with parents. It doesn't get any easier than that!

Title: Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking
Author: Vivian Kirkfield
Genre:  Parent/Teacher Resource
Recommended Age:  Parents of children ages 2-5  
For More Info:  viviankirkfield.com, also on facebook
Price: Currently $24.95 for paperback, $2.99 for Kindle

What Mom Liked:

• Book themes!  I’ve always loved developing activities around picture book themes to drive the point of a story home, and this book does a very nice job of that.  Reading aloud has been such a big part of what we do every day and continues to be a way for us to connect with each other even during hectic times.
• Easy to do and not too many activities!  Some of the other curriculum we’ve tried has us focusing on a book for an entire week.  Esmé was never into that type of repetition, and it also tied up a full week of plans, so if we took off a few days, it felt like we had to make them up the next week.  With this book, it’s easy to fit a picture book’s activities into a few hours of a day and then move on to other books or activities.
• Preschool tips.  With the daily schedule recommendations and other ideas at the end of the book, this could easily be used as the anchor of full-year preschool curriculum.
• Healthy recipes.  When I research foods to go with a specific preschool theme or book, most of what I find doesn’t rank very high on the healthy scale, and I’ve found it’s easy to get caught up in cutesy candy/dessert ideas.  We’re vegetarians, and there were a few recipes in the book that use meat, but it’s easy to find substitutes, and all the recipes in the book emphasize wholesome ingredients while still appealing to most kids.
• Uses “common” items.  I didn’t find myself needing to shop much in preparation, either for recipe ingredients or for craft supplies.
• Easily adaptable for ages 2-5.  The activities could be easily adjusted for differing abilities.

I’ve found this book to be a fabulous resource, and at the current Kindle price of $2.99, it is a tremendous value for the money!

As we transition to the next school year, I am looking for the perfect preschooling family to bequeath our physical book to!  Enter below to win our gently-used copy of Show Me How!  Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Disclaimer:  Thanks to the author for providing the book to us in exchange for an unbiased review.  All opinions are our own.