A Giveaway for Your Little Scholar!

*Update*

This giveaway is now closed.  Thank you so much for stopping by and entering.  The winner is Meredith Peters (#19).  Check back this week for more giveaways!

 

Children are made readers on the laps of their parents
~ Emilie Buchwald ~

It’s amazing to me how crucial twenty minutes of reading aloud to my son is.  By the time he turns five, he will have had over 600 hours of instruction time, which is more than one academic school year.  I admit that I haven’t always been perfect about reading to him daily, but more and more I’m making it a priority. Reading out loud to young children promotes family bonding, encourages listening and language skills, and gives children a strong reading foundation (The National Children’s Reading Foundation).  

Scholastic, the most trusted name in learning, has a wonderfully rich developmental program for children from birth to three years of age called Little Scholastic.  The program introduces babies and toddlers to a lifetime of reading, learning, and interaction at an early age.  As your child grows and develops, you as the parent can read the book in new and exciting ways to build on concepts.  Babies start by touching the textures and pointing to the images.  Between the ages of one and two, toddlers are starting to listen and repeat the words.  Older toddlers, ages two to three, learn the concepts and connect the meaning of the words and images.  Each book in the Little Scholastic series features:

Rhyming, repetive text

Vivid contrasting colors

Familiar subjects and surroundings

Simple, easy to learn concepts

Interactive components

My son received Numbers, Peek-a-Zoo, and Rhyme-a-Round, courtesy of Scholastic. As soon as I opened the package my son was grabbing at the books.  He LOVES books just like mommy.  I was immediately impressed by the vibrant colors and textures.  My son is fascinated by detail…he immediately noticed the contrasting textures on the tree in Rhyme-a-Round.  He also found out that the trunk on the elephant’s nose and the wing on the bee in Peek-a-Zoo can be ripped off!  We’ve been saying the alphabet and counting to 10 for a while now so the Numbers book was familiar to him.  We have a lot of books for our little boy but hadn’t really bought him any board books with textures.  I appreciate the fact that they’re extremely durable since my son likes to tear and bend anything he can (it’s part of exploring I assume!).  I also like that the concepts and songs are familiar.  It’s definitely age-appropriate and easy enough to read in a time frame that keeps his interest.  

The Little Scholastic website is filled with useful information including expert advice and articles, downloadable games and  activities, videos and more.  Check out their site for tips on reading with your baby and/or toddler.  

Win It!  One lucky reader will win 5 books from the Little Scholastic series (tailored to your child’s age), courtesy of Scholastic.  Head on over to the Little Scholastic website and check out how truly fabulous it really is : ).  Come back and leave me a comment indicating the name of a book you’d like to read with your child AND one interesting tip or piece of advice you found.  Comments will close on August 26, 2008 at 10 pm PST and I will announce the winner here the following day. One comment per person, please.  US residents only.  Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement on the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn. 

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To Tip Or Not To Tip…

We like to eat out…a lot!  And while we try to limit the number of times we indulge in this expensive habit, inevitably there comes a night when my husband and I are both getting home after 8:00 and neither of us wants to start cooking.  The other night I went to Pomodoro and ordered take-out….I paid with a credit card of course.  Who carries cash these days anyway?  Well, of course there was a spot on the receipt to add a tip.  It got me thinking…do I really need to provide a tip when I am not dining in?  I feel like it’s mandatory since it’s on the receipt but I want some justification for it.  Are they not required to cook my food?  I need some advice!  : )  Happy Friday!