Sam Feels Better Now, written
by Jill Osborne and illustrated
by Kevin Collier, is an interactive
story for children who have seen
or dealt with something traumatic.  

This post has been moved. 

Continue reading here.  

The Joy Of Pregnancy, The Complete, Candid, and Reassuring Companion For Parents-To-Be, by Tori Kropp, R.N. is an easy read, full of practical information.  The Joy Of Pregnancy takes you step by step, from becoming pregnant, through each month of the pregnancy, to life with a brand new baby. 

Each chapter is full of features that help you navigate this important journey: important info highlighted in a softly colored boxes, Ask Tori, R.N. (questions she has received over the year along with her answers), Dad’s Corner (great infor for the expectant father for each step of the journey), Tori’s Tips, and more.  The use of color and boxes really breaks up the great expanse of information so that it is not monotonous and it is easy to locate just the info you are looking for.

About Tori Kropp, R.N.:

 

Tori Kropp, R.N. has attended the births of thousands of babies. At Califormia Pacific Medical Center and elsewhere. She is founder and director of Pillowtalk, a child-birth edication program in Marin County and San Francisco, and founder of Stork Site, a pregnancy-and-parenting website. She lives with her family in Marin County.

If you are expecting, I would recommend picking up a copy of Tori Kropp’s The Joy Of Pregnancy.  I don’t think you will find a more easily digested, practical resource for your pregnancy.

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I recently had the opportunity to review two books from Cedar Vally Publishing, “Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten” and “Let’s Get Ready For First Grade” and I am really loving these books!  The Kindergarten book may be a little misleading if you are thinking it would be great “just before” Kindergarten, but it is actually a great learning tool for toddlers and preschoolers.  The 8”x8” books are easy for little hands to flip through and they are more durable than regular paper pages.  Each page has a different lesson or activity to work on and all pages are dry-erase marker friendly.   The back of each book has Parent & Caregiver tips to help your child learn. 

Be prepared if you order (or win!) these books, though – unless your child is asleep or not at home when these arrive, do not expect to open your package and peruse them.  At least in my house, thinking I would be able it, I was grossly mistaken.  They came out of the package, B got a look mere glance at them and quickly relieved me of them.  It was a little while later that I was actually able to see what they were about.  Right away he found the alphabet activity page in the Kindergarten book and started naming off all the animals and objects he knew.  As I am writing this post, I had the books out for reference, he walked in and now what do I do? He’s taken them away again.  He loves books as it is (which thrills me as a mom) and he has a particular liking for these… the size of the books are great for him to look through or tote around the house and the vivid colors grab his attention. 

He is momentarily distracted elsewhere (I just heard his bucket of vehicles dumped out in his room), so I want to flip through and point out some of my favorites in these books.  The front inside cover of the Kindergarten book has a list of early childhood skills to practice at home and at school.  The front inside cover of the First Grade book has a list of skills your child should know prior to entering First Grade.  Both of these lists are a great reference.  Some of the learning activities in the Kindergarten book: ABCs, counting, shapes, colors, hands & fingers, money, seasons, and lots more.  Some of the learning activities in the First Grade book: several word activities (contractions, compound words,, etc), specific letter sounds (like the short o sound), branches government, money, add, subtract, measure, and a whole lot more. 

A little info about the co-author, Stacey Kannenberg:

 

Stacey Kannenberg is an author, publisher, motivator, consultant, spokesperson and MOM.  As the “Get Ready to Learn Mom”, Stacey is a nationally renowned education expert and award winning author with an expertise in children’s education, and “Mom-entrepreneurship”.  She is the co-author of the award winning and state approved, Let’s Get Ready series with Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten! and Let’s Get Ready For First Grade! Stacey is the Founder/CEO of two publishing companies: Cedar Valley Publishing and Stacey Kannenberg Unlimited, an imprint of Cedar Valley Publishing.   In the fall, Stacey will be releasing the highly anticipated Spanish/English Bilingual Edition of Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten!

Stacey is a frequent presenter at Early Learning and Head Start Conferences where she holds workshops for teachers and educators entitled:  Empowering Parents 101.  Stacey is a favorite presenter at schools where she helps parents, kids and teachers get ready for Kindergarten.  She also presents at Book Publishing Conferences with her sessions on Book Publishing 101 & Book Marketing 101.  Stacey also presents Empowering Mom 101 and Mom-entrepreneurship to mom groups, playgroups, MOPS and book clubs.

Stacey is a Principal in Mom Central Consulting were she helps brands reach mom through a viral grassroots approach.

Stacey and Cedar Valley Publishing are offering a set of both books to one lucky winner.  To enter, leave a comment telling us about your child’s favorite learning activity.  For a second entry, subscribe to my RSS feed and leave a second comment letting me know.

Stacey is offering 20% off each purchase during the Launch Party by using code CEDAR (all caps).  Visit Cedar Valley Publishing to place your order. 

Open to US, CAN & International!! 

Deadline to enter: 11:59 PM EST August 25, 2008

For more giveaways, check the left sidebar or click HERE.

Click HERE to get bonus entries!!

Three Steps To Time Management For The Stay-At-Home Mom from the 1-2-3… Get Organized mini-book series by Beverly Coggins is a simplified, easy to read and implement guide to organizing your time at home.  This small, durable book will easily fit in your purse – great for those seemingly wasted minutes standing in line, waiting for your child or an appointment, etc.  It won’t take long at all to breeze through it, but don’t let that fool you.  It is packed with a lot of great info and tips to help you make the most of your time.  I’ve read this and other of Beverly Coggin’s books and find each one a great resource.  I’m able to read through them and get the info I need and a plan of action quick enough that I can actually implement it before I get sidetracked… again.    Her books are also available in digital format.

Beverly Coggins has been organizing people for over 30 years.  She is a professional organizer, speaker and author of the 1-2-3… Get Organized series, including Three Steps to Decluttering, Three Steps to Organizing Your Child’s Room, and Three Steps to Planning Dinner.  She is married with two grown daughters and is currently a foster parent for teenage girls.  Follow her organizing tips at www.1-2-3GetOrganized.blogspot.com.

If you would like to win your own copy of Three Steps To Time Management For The Stay At Home Mom by Beverly Coggins, head on over to her bookshop, browse around, and come back here and comment about which item(s) would help you to get more organized.

You may gain a second entry by subbing to my RSS feed and leaving an additional comment.  Remember to comment on your favorite item(s) first and to leave a separate comment regarding the RSS feed so you gain both entries.

Don’t forget to grab a coupon before you head over – in case you see something you’d really like.    Bev is offering 25% off any order by using code sts. Expires August 31, 2008.

This giveaway is open to everyone, any country of residence.  In the event of a non-US/CAN winner, the book will be provided in digital format.

Deadline to enter: 11:59 PM EST, Monday, August 25, 2008.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEVERLY!!!!!

 For more chances to win Bev’s books, visit her blog HERE, HERE, and HERE. Y’all… that last link is for a $50+ package!  The three giveaways @ her blog are just for the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival, so may end around August 1-3.

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