Why is Love of Reading Important?

Learning to read is hard work, and children who love books are more motivated and confident about facing this task. They learn to read more quickly and easily, with a minimum of frustration. Usborne Books will help lay the foundation for your child’s lifelong love of reading.

Black Friday announcement!

Black Friday is almost here – but first I wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving!

What am I thankful for? I am thankful for all the wonderful people I’ve met in the networks I belong to. They have helped me when I need it, patiently answered questions while my business exploded and my online marketing grew. It has been a very interesting, exhausting and wonderful year.

Black Friday Contest!
Would you like to WIN FREE books for your library? You could WIN $20 in FREE books!

How to earn an entry::

1. Go to www.MyUsborneBooks.com and find the answer to one (or both) of these questions and then email me at: contact.thebooklady@gmail.com with the answer. Please use “Giveaway answer” in your subject line. Each correct answer equals one entry. Be sure to come back here and post a comment saying that you answered question #1 or #2 and emailed. If you answered both, leave two separate comments. DO NOT WRITE THE ANSWER IN THE COMMENT BOX.

a) Name one of the books in the NEW Pipkin Picture Book series for Preschoolers. (Hint: there is a penguin on the front and the titles all start with “How”)
b) What is the name of the NEW teen/adult series Usborne is releasing this year?

2. Blog about us or our Black Friday sale with a link back to my store. Come back here and leave a comment with your blog link.

3. Add us to your Blogroll and then post a comment here stating you did so along with the link.

4. Subscribe to my blog. Signup can be found on our website. Post a comment here stating that you’ve subscribed to our newsletter. For as long as you are a valid subscriber, you will be automatically be entered into any future giveaways. Post a comment here stating you’ve subscribed to our blog.

6. Become a Facebook Fan and then post a comment here stating you became a fan.

9. Share this post with at least five other people by emailing them and cc’ing us on the email. Be sure to post a comment stating “I shared via email”.

Additional Important Information (A.K.A. “The Fine Print”) -

- You must follow the rules stated above.
- You must leave a valid e-mail address for your comments. It’s the only way you can be contacted when you win.
- The winner will be chosen at random. It is very important that you post each entry as a separate comment for this very reason.
- Contest ends November 26th at 11:59 pm EST.
- Winner has 3 days to respond. If you fail to respond, another winner will be chosen.
- Contest is limited to residents of continental United States only.
- If you don’t see your comment posted immediately, it’s because moderation is needed. We will be updating the comments numerous times throughout the day.
- Your information will NOT be shared in any way.
- We do have subscriber reports for our blog and our email newsletter so please refrain from any dishonesty.
- Winner will be able to select which books they would like to receive. $20 FREE!

Best of luck to each of you! – Tina

Conspiracy365 – Book 1 is in!

Need a gift idea for a Teen or Adult?

Conspiracy 365 books are in!  

Be sure to reserve your copy before their gone & sign up for the contest (read below)! Reserve your advance copy of Conspiracy 365 NOW! – Book 1

Don’t blink. Don’t forget to breathe. 12 BOOKS – 12 MONTHS! A Hot New Series for 2010 with a new book every month & a HOT NEW contest! Read through… the email to find out how you can WIN $20 in FREE books from The Book Lady!

Contest announcement!!!!

Enter to WIN $20 in FREE books! All of the following steps must be followed to enter this contest.

1. Go to: http://www.conspiracy365us.com/conspiracy365sneakpeek.pdf     and read the first chapter and see the Trailer!

2. Go to: http://www.conspiracy365us.com/Reserve.aspx?sid=L2337 and reserve your copy of the First Book of this NEW exciting series!

3. Go to my facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/TheBookLady?ref=profile and click ‘become a fan’. Leave a comment that you reserved your copy.

Boredom Buster #1 from Kids Off the Couch!

KidsOfftheCouch.com is a wonderful website dedicated to kids learning from what they are watching & reading. There are fun activities and events that you can use to draw your family closer together. For other fun books & activities sign up for their newsletter.

 

Caught in a Web Charlotte’s Web + Getting to Know Spiders:

In taking down this year’s Halloween decorations, we found a few real spider webs underneath the pretend ones. Their sticky homes could give spiders a bad rap, unless you’re familiar with Charlotte’s Web, a story that gives arachnids a whole new spin. Based on E.B. White’s classic book, the new live-action adaptation stars Dakota Fanning as Fern and Julia Roberts lending her voice to literature’s most literate pig.

Charlotte, the webby wordsmith, saves her friend Wilbur the pig from becoming dinner by weaving words like “Some Pig” into her web and creating a publicity stir. Like Wilbur, and our kids were enamored with Charlotte, so we checked out the a Spider Exhibit at our local natural history museum to see if Charlotte’s movie star good looks were as mesmerizing off the screen. The Pavilion is an enclosed space on the Museum lawn that houses spiders cage free in a natural habitat. Kids can wander about looking for cool webs and five varieties of spiders. Arachnaphobes have nothing to fear: spiders are shy and stay put in their webs amongst the garden bushes. If you look close, you may just run into an Agiope — Charlotte’s cousin who weaves her silken threads into geometric patterns!

Go to Kids Off the Couch for conversation starters and adventures based on this wonderful book!

Tina “The Book Lady” Peterson www.MyUsborneBooks.com                      Blog: www.greatbooks4kids.wordpress.com

The Sensitive Period for the Acquisition of Language

Here is an article from a Montessori Blog:  http://montessori21stcentury.wordpress.com/2008/04/08/  that I thought it was rather interesting. 

- It’s very interesting how babies love to hear us speak and listening to us read to them helps increase their vocabulary! 

April 8, 2008

The sensitive periods represent critical points of a child’s development. The sensitive period for language occurs from birth to about age six. It is at this time that the child learns the primary language spoken in the home. He also has the ability to learn and fluently speak other languages.

Children are fascinated by sounds around them. In fact, the infant intently watches the human face, focusing on the mouth of the person speaking. As Montessori indicated, the infant needs to be in close proximity to people to study their interactions and conversations. Placing a child off in a distant room where he only hears bits and pieces of a conversation is a great disservice, as the child fails to hear complete sentences or thoughts.

The infant is delighted with the rhythm of the human voice and is fascinated with the sounds of the spoken word. Because the child is in the sensitive period of the absorbent mind, we need to focus our attention on taking full adantage of this developmental period in thet child’s life. I highly recommend that you borrow Maria Montessori’s The Absorbent Mind from your library to learn more about how you can help your infant benefit from this crucial sensitive period.

Take time to read aloud to your child. Sing songs, recite poetry and read stories. Although the child hears other noises and sounds, the child selectively only reproduces the human voice. During this sensitive period for learning language single sounds become fixed in the child’s subconscious. When learning English, he first absorbs consonants, and then syllables. Next, words are fixed; however, the child can’t readily comprehend the meaning of the words he is hearing. The ‘inner teacher’ within the child helps him to later grasp the meaning and grammar of the English language. We must remember that anguage acquisition has a natural timetable which can’t be accelerated by an adult’s prodding or interference.

Montessori was quick to illustrate that if an adult goes to a foreign country and attempts to learn a foreign language, he will find it most difficult. This is because the adult no longer possesses the sensitive period of language. So, what are some of the things you can do to help your child fully benefit from the sensitive period of language? Read Montessori’s
The Absorbent Mind and The Secret of Childhood books. These books will provide you with a solid foundation of what you need to know.

Montessori at Home: A Complete Guide to Teaching Your Preschooler at Home Using the Montessori Method and Modern Montessori at Home: A Creative Teaching Guide for Parents of Children Six through Nine Years of Age will also be helpful as these books provide complete language lesson planning information and provide instruction on how to set up the prepared environment.

Visit the Fall/Winter 1998 Newsletter to receive some free material for presenting lessons in French. Many of these lessons and templates can be used to present lessons in English, Spanish, Italian, and German as well.

Heidi
http://www.amonco.org