Kids, stop by and read to a dog! The Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.) program improves children’s reading and communication skills by employing a powerful method: reading to a dog. But not just any dog. R.E.A.D. dogs are registered therapy animals who volunteer with their owner/handlers as a team, going to schools, libraries and many other settings as reading companions for children.
Groundhog Day is February 2nd. It is said that if the groundhog sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of bad weather, and if he doesn’t, that spring will be here soon. Despite whether we will have more winter weather or not, we can still have fun exploring shadows this week, especially since the sunshine has returned, at least a little bit. There are lots of fun things to do with shadows, like measure your child’s shadow outside at different times of the day. Mark the shadow so that your child can see the shadow grow and then shrink back throughout the day. One of my three year olds favorite things to do is play tag. So play shadow tag, where you try and step on another person’s shadow to make them the “it”. Or perhaps it is a cloudy day, put up a sheet and a lamp and create your own light source inside to make shadows. My son’s nightlight makes a great set up to do shadows on his wall at night. Here is a link that shows you how to make all kinds of animal shadows.
Maybe you are a literary family. Then the following poem by CJ Heck, might be something you want to use and explore shadows.
My Shadow
I have a shadow hooked to me.
Sometimes he’s big.
Sometimes he’s small.
Sometimes he isn’t there at all.
He doesn’t seem to like the rain.
(Maybe thunder scares him, too) .
He’s gone from me on days like that
’cause there isn’t much to do.
But if it’s really sunny out,
he doesn’t like to hide.
He’s hooked right there beside me
and we play all day outside.
While you are having fun ask your child questions like: how do you make shadows? Do you see shadows everywhere? When do you see shadows better? Let your child figure out they need the sun (or some sort of light source) for shadows. Great way for your child to learn and engage in science without even knowing it. Enjoy chasing those shadows this week!
As I was thinking about fun toys to review, I decided to write about my kids favorite Christmas gifts. There is one toy that stands way above the rest. It was given to my 6 yr. old son, but has been enjoyed by his younger sister and his older cousins. It gets serious play time every single day.
They’re called Magformers and they are simply different shapes with magnets on each side. You can build balls, castles, cars or anything else your mind can imagine. They are pretty much indestructible and the magnets are very strong. One set includes wheels which even furthers the possibilities. The idea is so simple, but my kids really enjoy them. The only place I have seen them for sale in Topeka is at the Toy Store at 21st and Fairlawn. They are also available online at amazon.com and qvc.com. The prices at QVC seem to be the best. So if you’re looking for a super fun birthday present this one would be perfect! And come back for a new toy review next week. It’s another Christmas favorite!
Washburn’s Andrew J. & Georgia Neese Gray Theatre 10:30am & 1:30pm
Brian Wendling is a whirlwind of fun, using award-winning juggling and high energy antics to capture an audience’s heart! Tickets $3. For more information click here.
Public Ice Skating
Kansas Expo Center 12:30pm
January 24th
R.E.A.D. Program
TSCPL- Main Story Zone 121C 2:00pm-3:00pm
Kids, stop by and read to a dog! The Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.) program improves children’s reading and communication skills by employing a powerful method: reading to a dog. But not just any dog. R.E.A.D. dogs are registered therapy animals who volunteer with their owner/handlers as a team, going to schools, libraries and many other settings as reading companions for children.
Hello T-town! Do you have a son or daughter that is interested in space? My 6 year old son is so intrigued by it all. He could sit for hours and watch the NASA channel. Last month we took him to the open house at Crane Observatory. It’s located in Stoffer Science Hall at Washburn University (corner of 17th and Washburn). They set up all of their amazing telescopes and let the public come in to look at the sky! We were able to look at Jupiter, Jupiter’s moons and our moon. We could see our moon so up close that the craters were clearly visible. You could even see Jupiter’s red spot. This was such an awesome moment to share with our son! So if this fog ever goes away, there will be another open house this Thursday, January 21st. It’s from 6:30-8:00pm. Just a head’s up, they do cancel if it’s at all cloudy out and it’s best for older kids. It is pitch dark inside which makes it hard to see where you are walking. They have an open house twice a month, so if you can’t make it to this one don’t worry. Just click here to see the other dates.
Martin Luther King Jr. was and is an important person in our nation’s history. If you are in elementary school or above, you have heard his name and have an idea of what his role was in shaping our country. When my 3 year old (and twin 4 year old friends who are staying with us for a couple days) asked why his sister was out of school, it was a great opportunity to explain who Martin Luther King Jr. was. But what do you say? I thought for a moment and then simply said, “He was an important man who helped people to treat others better, no matter what they looked like. He died trying to make sure everyone had a chance to reach their dreams.”
So what are your dreams? Do you still dream? What are your kids’ dreams? What do they dream about being when they grow up? What steps will they take to get there? What do you do with your kids to make life better for other people? Spend some time talking with your kids today about their dreams and what they see in their life that they can do something to make it better for others. If you are wanting to do a craft for MLK Day, just Google it and the possibilities are endless. But for my post today, I wanted to spend a little time on doing things with our kids that will make a difference for ourselves, for our kids and most importantly for others.
Many organizations are giving back to their communities today in honor of MLK. Make a Difference Monday is what one organization was calling it. Maybe you are thinking, but what can I do? Some ideas could include buying someone a cup of coffee in line behind you at Starbucks, buying someone lunch in line behind you at the drive thru, writing someone an encouraging note, shoveling your neighbor’s driveway, buying someone some groceries, sending a friend a card, picking up the tab for someone in a restaurant, watching your neighbor’s kids while they go out, help stock the local food pantry, visit the elderly or shut-ins, pick up the extra grocery cart sitting in the parking lot, or baking some cookies and taking them to work… The possibilities are endless! And remember… “Little things don’t mean a lot, they mean EVERYTHING!” The example you set for your kids and the unspoken words and lesson of your actions will stick with your kids for the rest of their lives. If we are a living example for our children, then our children will become a better example for the next generation. What will you do today to make a difference?
Kyler sings, plays the guitar, and reads entertaining books for your family. No registration required.
January 16th
Public Ice Skating
Kansas Expo Center 12:30pm
January 17th
R.E.A.D. Program
TSCPL- Main Story Zone 121C 2:00-3:00pm
Kids, stop by and read to a dog! The Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.) program improves children’s reading and communication skills by employing a powerful method: reading to a dog. But not just any dog. R.E.A.D. dogs are registered therapy animals who volunteer with their owner/handlers as a team, going to schools, libraries and many other settings as reading companions for children.
Today my daughter went to the public library to read to some service dogs. She LOVES dogs and I saw on TKR about the R.E.A.D. (Reading Education Assistance Dogs) program on Sundays at 2pm. She had a blast reading chapter 7 of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince to Pearl.
This whole positive experience got me to thinking about my topic for a creative activity for this week. What is a great thing to do for kids and families that promotes fun, learning, creativity, adventure, intellect and doesn’t take many supplies or finances? Of course, reading! What better way to spend quality time with your kids than to read. I have seen many Facebook statuses this past week about cabin fever (me included in that group) and a great way to help alleviate some of that stress is to read a good book and let your imagination take you to another land. Now that it is “warming up” go to the public library and start checking out some books (it’s FREE)!
Kids should be read to 1,000 hours before they ever enter Kindergarten. That may seem like an overwhelming number, but really it is a story a night. You may notice that your little ones pick the same books over and over and over and over. This is normal and really good. They are still learning and soaking up that book and that is why they pick it over and over. So next time they pick that same book, have a little fun. Turn the book upside down and begin reading, or start at the back of the book. Chances are they will notice something is “wrong” and correct you. Another idea is to read the familiar book in a funny voice; try opera, underwater or possibly a British accent. Also, stop periodically and ask your child questions. Depending on their age, tailor the questions to their ability level. “What do you think will happen next?” “Can you find the duck on this page?” “Where should I start reading?” “What was your favorite part of the story?” “Do you see any words/letters/punctuation marks/etc you know?” This is great for little ones to learn about books and reading. You can even take familiar stories and act them out or create puppet shows if you are really adventerous this week.
For those kids that are already good readers, read out loud to them. It will make them better readers and they enjoy it. Our daughter loves to read and reads way more than I do (she is fast gaining on her dad’s heels of a book a day), but she still loves for us to read out loud to her. It is a great way to model to your kids the importance of reading and they pick up a lot more reading skills than you realize. Don’t even worry if you make mistakes, they will learn from that too, that even good readers make mistakes and it is OK.
If you want more tips on how to make reading to your kids fun or a part of your daily routine, just leave us a note here on TKR. My challenge to you this week: turn off the television or computer and read a book with or to your child this week.
This event is for all ages. All the books you can stuff into a brown grocery bag–purchased at the door for $5.00 each, are yours. Cruise through books on all topics. This NEW book sale event will be a true scavenger hunt not to be missed.
Sunnyside Up Saturday: Storytime with Kyler
TSCPL-The Story Zone 121C 10:00-10:30am
Sleepy heads get out of bed. Grab a cinnamon roll at the café then enjoy songs, stories, and fun with Kyler.
Washburn’s Andrew J. & Georgia Neese Gray Theatre 10:30am & 1:30pm
Performed by The Paul Mesner Puppets. For more information click here.
January 10th
R.E.A.D. Program
TSCPL- Main Story Zone 121C 2:00pm-3:00pm
Kids, stop by and read to a dog! The Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.) program improves children’s reading and communication skills by employing a powerful method: reading to a dog. But not just any dog. R.E.A.D. dogs are registered therapy animals who volunteer with their owner/handlers as a team, going to schools, libraries and many other settings as reading companions for children.
You gotta, gotta, GOTTA check out a new super fun game called Twister Hopscotch!! It’s a blast times infinity. It’s a great indoor game. The box says it’s for six years on up.. but our THREE year old loved it as much as our FIVE year old! Basically, your child spins the wheel and it will land on a certain color and activity. So your child has to hop to that color while performing that activity. For example, your child could land on a green circle that says sing. So as your little one is hopping to the green circle, they have to belt out their favorite tune!
TopekaKidsRock.com is an on-line magazine dedicated to uncovering all of the fun things to do in Topeka for families. Click the tabs on the left to find out what's hip and happening!
Despite whether we will have more winter weather or not, we can still have fun exploring shadows this week, especially since the sunshine has returned, at least a little bit. There are lots of fun things to do with shadows, like measure your child’s shadow outside at different times of the day. Mark the shadow so that your child can see the shadow grow and then shrink back throughout the day. One of my three year olds favorite things to do is play tag. So play shadow tag, where you try and step on another person’s shadow to make them the “it”. Or perhaps it is a cloudy day, put up a sheet and a lamp and create your own light source inside to make shadows. My son’s nightlight makes a great set up to do shadows on his wall at night. Here is a link that shows you how to make all kinds of animal shadows.
