Kindergarten Prep

"Kindergarten: It Isn't What It Used to Be, getting your child ready for the positive experience of education" by Susan and Mitch Golant proved to be just what I was looking for as a parent currently obsessed with all things kindergarten.The fact that this "latest" edition was published in 1999 made me a bit skeptical from the start, but the book is actually still quite relevant (according to me.) It even mentions the internet! ( I coudn't remember if we even had the internet in 1999!)

This extremely quick but informative read covers many topics from Kindergarten readiness to testing children to learning styles. The authors pepper their writing with personal anecdotes that relate to their own experiences with their children. What I found most useful to parents in this book is a review of key skills (social and academic) that your child's preschool should be covering in order to prepare your child for kindergarten as well as descriptions of what a "good" kindergarten should look like. As I am realizing more and more, it is all about the teacher. It is not always possible to know who your child's teacher will be and if they will connect to your child, but this book gives parents some pointers on how to cross that bridge if needed.

Reading this book re-enforced my own beliefs around what I want my child's kindergarten experience to look like, and gave me many ideas on how I can help my child at home. This may be very useful for other parents in helping them to understand what the goals of kindergarten should be and how to find the best fit for your child.

After closing this book upon finishing, my first thought was "I want to be a kindergarten teacher!" I was so pumped up on the magic of kindergarten...about ten minutes later I realized there is no way that I would have the patience required. Thanks to those people who do!

Simple Simon

Hmm, I am sensing a theme here with my second book based on simplifying life. The copy of "Living Simply With Kids" by Marie Sherlock from my local
library is very beat up which leads me to think (hope?) that there must be quite a few simplicity seeking parents out there!

This is an easy read and is also a good "pick it up every now and then" kind of book.

Themes in this book include "quality time, soul searching and caring for the earth." At times this book may seem
A bit "granola crunchy" but the key messages of keeping life simple will resonate even with those who may find some of the chapters a bit over the top. The author insists that families who choose to have both partners work part time are able to retire early and keep up financially if they so choose. I am not sure that this would work for many people...

One of the first topics addressed in the book is materialism and the thought that if you are all about comsuming more and more, chances are that you will never feel satisfied.

On page 51, there is a "happiness quiz" which according to research, the more "yes" answers you have, the greater
chance you have of being a happy individual. Here are a few of the questions:

1.Do you have non materialistic goals rather than goals of achieving great wealth? Are you satisfied with basic financial security rather than riches?

2. Do you smile and laugh frequently?

3. Do you have several close and intimate friendships?

4. Do you have strong ties to your community?

5.Do you pause to reflect on all of the good things in your life often?

There are more questions in this quiz to reflect on in the book.

Keep on keepin' it simple!

How do you love?

"The Five Love Languages of Children" was recommended to me by a friend. These authors are apparently very well known and I am planning on reading their best selling relationship book in the near future. This is a light and easy read.

The main philosophy behind this book is that children have five different languages of love, meaning they feel and receive love in one of five ways:
Physical touch, words of affirmation, quality time, gifts and acts of service.

This book helps parents to understand and explore how their children may best receive love and offers insight into how to figure out your child's "love language" and how to best connect with them.

This is an interesting read and leads one to question their own "love language". There is a fun quiz at the end to help readers explore their own preferences on how they receive love.

If you are looking to connect to your child or others, this could be a life changer for you!

Keep it simple

"Simplicity Parenting" by Kim John Payne is a welcome calm in the stormy
chaotic world of present day parenting.

Payne is an advocate for Waldorf style education as his philosophy aligns a lot with Waldorf teachings. This book encourages parents to make life more simple, and thus enjoyable for themselves and their children. The opening chapter mentions that most children have on average 150 toys and that most are rarely played with. He dedicates a whole chapter to helping parents declutter and states that children will play more if they have less!

Something I took away from this book was the "gift of boredom".Payne believes that it is a good thing to let children experience boredom, that it fosters creativity. He writes that children today are so over scheduled that they don't have the chance to have to create their own fun. I am trying to embrace boredom now by following Payne's advice and sitting back and letting my kids find something to do. They always come up with something fun, and I can see their creativity in action.

Well worth reading, I think children and parents will both benefit from this book.

Run in my tights

Another good running read, although not witty or humorous like the other one I wrote about (see below).

This book covers a lot of ground for beginning runners. Topics covered include nutrition, training and gear. I found the most useful part was all of the photos and diagrams showing muscles used in running and proper stretches for those muscles. Many tips as well on identifying and treating injuries. Thumbs up!

Run Momma Run

"Run like a Mother" by Dimity McDowell and Sarah Shea is an inspiring and hilarious read. In a nutshell, they are writing about the ups, downs and in-betweens of running for women and mothers. This book contains lots of information about running from 5ks to marathons as well as health tips, equipment advice and entertaining anecdotes from these two sports writers.

Some highlights for me were sections on which music to run to, all about marathons, and the chapter called "managing the offspring." The silliest chapter near the end is dedicated to "pottytalk" and deals with "pooping peeing, passing gas and periods." All very informative. Great information is also shared about running during and after pregnancy.

One of my favourite quotes from the book:

The Jekell/Hyde scenarios strike signature feelings of parenthood: guilt and pride. The former is easy to summon.Just think of that training adage "Somewhere out there somebody is working harder than you are" and you pretty much have parenting in the uber-ambitious twenty-first century in a sentence.Somewhere out there a mom spends Saturday hovering over her first grader doing addition... Or patiently making muffins with him and not getting angry when the bag of flour spills all over the floor. Somewhere out there a mom is not running. That mom is not me. I typically don't feel like I should be reading "Frog and Toad All Year" for the fifth time in two days instead of doing a tempo run. Page 169.

My mom demonstrated how to be passionate about something, how to delicately weave an activity into your life so that it marks you but doesn't define you. She showed me that you can be a mother, have another job, and still carve out time for yourself. ... Taking time out to run actually teaches kids that the world-news to them?- doesn't revolve around them.
Page 171

Good read ladies!