We’ve reached that point in the summer when adults are
thinking “back to school” and kids are saying, “What can we do now?” And the younger the children, the more limited
their abilities. You may have run out of ideas. Well, worry no more because I
have the answer for you! Are you surprised it is a book?
Show Me How by Vivian Kirkfield contains over 200 pages of
ideas to help young children learn through stories, crafts, and cooking! This
unique combination is aimed at ages 2-5 and the adults who care for them.
Each
chapter contains almost 20 activity sets based on classic children’s books. For
example, in Chapter One: “I Can Do It Myself!” Kirkfield uses the book Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel to encourage the independence and satisfaction that can come from children’s abilities to
work hard by themselves. The suggested
craft is to make a collage of pictures of work vehicles cut from old magazines and
paste them onto construction paper or poster board. The cooking complement is
Child-Friendly Mini Apple Pies. Yum! I have a hunch that these recipes aren’t
just for kids!
Other chapters are “I’m Special!”, “I Love You & You
Love Me!”, ‘I Am Really Mad Right Now!”, “I’m Afraid!”, “I Like Myself!” and “Tell
Me One More Story, Please!” As you can see, this book covers many aspects of a
child’s life and development.
What inspired Vivian to write this book? She holds a master’s degree in early childhood education, taught kindergarten, and ran a daycare.
Vivian says, “I'm
passionate about encouraging parents to read with their children...and even
spending just 15 minutes a day, reading, or crafting or cooking with them could
make such a big difference. Children definitely understand how busy their
parents are...and a parent that takes precious time and gives it to a child is
doing an important thing...the time we spend with our kids is worth more than
the most expensive gadgets we could buy for them. Just a piece of paper and
some crayons...a parent can tell a whole story in pictures. Just a piece of
paper and some crayons...a child can create a new world.
“These moments spent
with our children, especially when they are young, are priceless! Inviting a
child into the kitchen to help arrange a fruit salad, squeeze fresh orange
juice, shake up some heavy cream in a bottle to make real butter...these
activities don't even require cooking...but will encourage vocabulary building,
fine motor skills, math and science curiosity, and a stronger bond between
parent and child."
Disclaimer: I was a lucky winner of the book on Vivian’s
blog, “Picture Books Help Kids Soar” https://viviankirkfield.com/.
If you live or work with young children, you will want to follow and get more
great book and children’s activity ideas! I look forward to trying these out with
my granddaughter. (Photos courtesy of Vivian Kirkfield.)
